Ambedkar remark row: NDA mulls united front to counter as Opposition unleashes nation-wide campaign

Members of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met the New Delhi residence of BJP president and Union Minister J P Nadda on Dec 25 to discuss ways to put up a united front to counter the Opposition “narrative” on the issue of the Constitution and Dr B R Ambedkar.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) — a key partner of the BJP, underlined the need for better NDA coordination on the lines of what the India bloc has been doing to attack the government and the ruling alliance, especially after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark in Rajya Sabha which the Congress claimed was an “insult” of Ambedkar.

Hours after paying tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 100th birth anniversary, NDA leaders met at Nadda’s house for almost an hour. Sources said the leaders discussed the Opposition onslaught against the BJP over Shah’s remark, caste census, and social justice politics.

Shah was said to have told the leaders, including TDP leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, that the Congress was trying to create “false narratives”.

Sources were quoted as saying that the TDP was also of the view that the Opposition was peddling a “false narrative”. The message was clear: the NDA would have to counter the Opposition narrative unitedly, and there was a need for coordination among the partners.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders targeted the Congress for making Shah’s remark on Ambedkar “an issue” to “mislead” the public, sources were quoted as saying.

“In the meeting, we were told how the Congress MPs did not react when Shah, in his speech in Rajya Sabha, made the remark. But later, Congress leaders held a meeting where Rahul Gandhi was present and they decided to remark an issue to be highlighted. So, Congress conspired to make Shah’s comment an issue to only draw attention,” a leader familiar with the discussions was quoted as saying.

The BJP leaders, including senior Union Ministers, also told NDA members about the “misdeeds” of past Congress governments like “insulting Ambedkar” and imposing an Emergency, according to sources privy to the development.

The BJP called upon NDA allies to “expose” the Congress on the ground and tell people what the BJP-led NDA government has done to respect the memory of Ambedkar – like developing Panch Tirths – five places of pilgrimage – and for the “empowerment” of Dalits by giving them their due share in welfare schemes.

After the meeting, leaders of BJP allies, sources said, also met Nadda individually and discussed issues related to their respective agenda and states.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were not present at the meeting, sources said.

The leaders who attended expressed happiness over the NDA’s victories in the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections, months after a slight dip in the alliance tally in the Lok Sabha elections, a BJP leader was quoted as saying.

The Janata Dal (U) was represented by Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh and the Shiv Sena by Union MoS Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav. Also in attendance were Union Minister and JD (S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, Civil Aviation Minister and TDP leader K Rammohan Naidu, former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha and Union Ministers Anupriya Patel, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Sanjay Nishad.

Shah spoke at length on recent political developments, including what transpired during the winter session of Parliament and the learnings from it, sources were quoted as saying. He told the leaders that the Congress never respected Ambedkar but was now trying to create a narrative in its favor, which should be countered forcefully and unitedly.

The NDA meeting took place a day before the extended meeting of the Congress Working Committee in Belagavi where it is set to mount a fresh offensive against the BJP over the issues of Ambedkar and caste census.

The Congress meeting will be followed by a public rally that has been named Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan rally – apart from marking 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s presidency of the Congress in 1924, the Congress intends to corner the BJP and NDA over Ambedkar and the Constitution.