MUMBAI: Senior BJP minister and Nashik guardian minister Girish Mahajan has landed in controversy for allegedly omitting a reference to Dr B R Ambedkar, the architect of India’s Constitution, during his Republic Day address.
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar demanded the registration of an atrocity case against Mahajan for deliberately insulting Ambedkar on Republic Day. He said the party was seeking legal opinion and would soon file a case.
As the issue snowballed into a major controversy, the BJP minister expressed regret, stating that the omission was not intentional. He said such an incident had never occurred earlier and acknowledged the mistake.
Woman government officer Madhavi Jadhav, who was part of the Republic Day parade, expressed strong displeasure and anger over the guardian minister allegedly ignoring the contribution of Ambedkar while taking the names of other leaders who had little to do with India’s freedom struggle.
“Whatever we have today is because of Dr B R Ambedkar. He not only wrote the Indian Constitution but also empowered everyone. Because of him, we are celebrating Republic Day, and women are serving in government services. I raised this issue, and instead of addressing it, they took me to the police station and threatened to suspend me. I am ready to face any consequences, but I will not tolerate the insult of Dr Ambedkar Saheb,” she said.
She added, “We have taken an oath to uphold Babasaheb’s Constitution. We will stand by that oath till our last breath. I cannot work in a system where taking Babasaheb’s name is treated as a crime.”