BJP Launches Counter-Offensive Against Oppn On Dalit Issues Following Row Over Amit Shah's Ambedkar Remark

The opposition parties' strong reaction to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on BR Ambedkar has prompted the BJP to launch a counter-campaign aimed at "exposing" the Congress and the Samajwadi Party on their stance towards Dalit issues.

The party has instructed its SC/ST Morcha to organise a counter-drive across all assembly constituencies to consolidate the SC/ST community and highlight the anti-Dalit actions taken during previous Congress and Samajwadi Party governments, both at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh.

Photo Credit: PTI

UP BJP SC/ST Morcha president Ram Chandra Kannaujia stated that the party would begin the campaign at the grassroots level to reveal the opposition's record.

"The party will focus on anti-Dalit slogans and actions taken by previous governments under opposition parties," he remarked.

Kannaujia confirmed that the campaign would commence after the organisational elections later this month. He noted that district units had been advised to focus on Dalit-majority villages and showcase the measures taken by the BJP government over the past decade.

"Congress and SP have been the biggest enemies of Dalits. This is a historical truth that needs to be shared with the public," Kannaujia declared, adding that he had met with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to propose additional measures for the welfare of socially oppressed classes.

However, analysts observed that the BJP was proceeding carefully after its recent victory in the state by-elections. Sources indicated that the victory enabled the BJP to counter the opposition's PDA formula, which had fuelled a growing caste-based narrative in the state.

"The opposition has reverted to its old tactic of dividing Hindu society by alienating Dalits and other socially oppressed groups in the name of Ambedkar. No other party has done more for the respect of Ambedkar in recent years than the BJP," Kannaujia asserted.

He also accused Congress of working against the principles of Ambedkar.

"They did everything to insult and undermine him. They even tried to alter the essence of the Constitution that Ambedkar drafted," he claimed.

Kannaujia also criticised the Samajwadi Party for scrapping the provision for quotas in promotions for Scheduled Castes in government jobs, a policy introduced during the BSP regime.

Even the BJP refrained from addressing this issue, fearing potential backlash from the upper caste and OBC communities, who objected to the provision.