Mhow/Indore, June 2: Rahul Gandhi today visited the birthplace of Bhimrao Ambedkar and, with a "Jai Bhim", dedicated the Congress to his "unfinished task" while describing the continuing caste and religious discrimination as a shame.
"Jai Bhim" is a greeting used by Dalit activists in honour of Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution and India's first law minister who had had uneasy ties with the Congress, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru throughout his life.
Central and Madhya Pradesh BJP leaders cited the Congress's past "humiliation" of Ambedkar to scoff at Rahul's belated "discovery" of the Dalit icon and paint his tributes as political opportunism.
Addressing a rally in Ambedkar's birthplace, Mhow town in Madhya Pradesh, Rahul said "it's a pity" that a young Dalit was murdered in Maharashtra because he had a song praising Babasaheb as his mobile ringtone.
"It's a shame that Zeeshan Ali is denied a job on grounds of his faith, and shocking that a group of IIT Madras students are punished for joining the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle."
Following a nudge from the Centre, IIT Madras last week de-recognised the Dalit-dominated study circle for distributing without permission a pamphlet criticising the Union government.
"Annihilation of caste is still a dream of Babasaheb Ambedkar that remains unfulfilled. Today, caste determines a lot of things in our country," the Congress vice-president said.
Rahul, however, claimed that the UPA government had made a sincere effort to provide equal opportunities to all.
In Delhi, Union minister Piyush Goyal and BJP Dalit cell chief Dushyant Gautam accused Rahul of "staging a drama" instead of offering "genuine penitence" for his party "humiliating" and "dishonouring" Ambedkar in his lifetime.
"It was on the initiative of (L.K.) Advaniji that he was awarded the Bharat Ratna and his life-size portrait was put up at (Parliament's) Central Hall," Goyal said.
Ambedkar was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1990 by the V.P. Singh government.
Gautam cited how the state's BJP government had started an Ambedkar Maha Kumbh (massive congregation) in his birthplace and how the Centre planned a memorial to him.
The state BJP too poured scorn on Rahul, minister Gopal Bhargava dubbing him an "Item Boy" and fellow minister Bhupinder Singh comparing him to a stand-up comedian.
Thaawar Chand Gehlot, the Union minister for social justice and empowerment and a Madhya Pradesh native, asked why Rahul had not gone to Mhow "for so many years".
The BJP and the Congress have been competing to celebrate Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary, which falls next year.
Rahul arrived in Mhow with Sushil Kumar Shinde, Mallikarjun Kharge, Digvijaya Singh, Kumari Shelja, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Mohan Prakash and several others this afternoon.
Party general secretary Mohan Prakash highlighted the choice of date, saying today was the centenary of Ambedkar earning his graduate degree from Columbia University in America.
Rahul began the day paying tributes at the Ambedkar memorial in Mhow. On his way to a public meeting, he stopped to interact with a group of Dalits. In the evening, he had a closed-door meeting with Dalit activists and thinkers.
But many in the state Congress feel that Rahul's initiative has come too late. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already set up a national committee to celebrate Ambedbar's 125th anniversary.
Additional reporting by Radhika Ramaseshan in New Delhi
