President Droupadi Murmu asked Indians for a promise to adopt his ideals, while Congresswomen Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge linked “the culture of forcing silence” as a threat to the Constitution he helped draught. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about his work for “empowerment and deprived sections of society.” Leaders from all walks of life paid tribute to B. R. Ambedkar on his birthday, April 14, highlighting the Dalit icon’s expanding significance.
Putting up an audio recording of his prior comments on Ambedkar’s life, PM Modi tweeted that Ambedkar had dedicated his life to the empowerment of the underprivileged and exploited segments of society. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accompanied him and President Murmu at a ceremony in the Parliament premises.
In a piece for The Telegraph, former Congress leader Sonia Gandhi paid tribute to Ambedkar and claimed that the BJP government was “misusing and subverting” the Constitution. She wrote, “As we commemorate Babasaheb’s legacy today, we must keep in mind his prophetic warning that the success of the Constitution rests on the behaviour of the people charged with exercising power.At the party headquarters, J P Nadda, the national president of the BJP, and other officials paid tribute to Ambedkar. His fight for the social advancement of the underprivileged, exploited, and women, according to Nadda, “will continue to inspire countrymen.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed Ambedkar had “ensured justice and rights to the last person of the country”. “He committed his life to the welfare of the impoverished, giving up all conveniences and luxuries.
“In a tribute to Ambedkar, Kharge slammed the Modi administration, calling “the culture of forced silence” and labelling people “anti-nationals” a dangerous trend that would undermine democracy and the Constitution. The Congress president cited Ambedkar’s warnings about the dangers of “hero-worship,” saying that people should choose whether they want to “preserve and maintain the noblest ideas of our Constitution creators” or “let the degeneration of our democracy and pave the way for dictatorship.”The universal values Babasaheb Ambedkar championed will always be our source of inspiration and strength, according to senior Congressman Rahul Gandhi.
Ambedkar was described as “the most well educated & intellectually talented of our Founding Fathers” by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, who also said that his legacy “is under siege presently.”The same sentiments were expressed by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, general secretary of the Congress. She wrote in Hindi, “Today, there is a premeditated attack on the Constitution of the country and these ideals,” thanking Ambedkar for assisting citizens in learning concepts like justice, equality, and fraternity through the Constitution.