JOIN USChamarajanagar MP V Srinivas Prasad has appealed to those protesting against the State government for an alleged comment on B R Ambedkar, in connection with the Constitution in its handbook, to stop the agitation. He clarified saying that the government has already taken action against those responsible for the comment.
Addressing a media conference, here, on Saturday, he said, the government, the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education and the Principal Secretary for Education have already apologised for the blunder, of uploading the handbook online, before it was given approval. “Besides, the government has already initiated an inquiry into the lapse. The handbook was immediately withdrawn. State Director for Secondary Education K S Mani and three other officials were suspended for the blunder and action is initiated against them,” Prasad said.
He said, the relationship between Ambedkar and the downtrodden people is like that of the ‘mother and baby’ and they get emotional when their sentiments are hurt. “The opposition parties try to exploit these emotions to meet their selfish ends. Thus, the agitators should be cautious not to become scapegoats. The flawed handbook also describes Ambedkar as ‘Pitamaha of the Constitution’. I have spoken about the issue with Minister S Suresh Kumar. He is doing his best to set the problem right,” Prasad said.
“It is not that the world does not know the contribution of Ambedkar to the nation, society and Constitution. As soon as Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, in 2014, he acknowledged that he could occupy the position due to the provisions given in the Constitution by Ambedkar. Several times, he has acknowledged that the Constitution, drafted by Ambedkar, is the best in the world. The opposition parties are unnecessarily raking up the issue, to link it to BJP and Sangh Parivar. Those protesting should verify the facts. They should not be carried away by misrepresentations by the opposition parties,” he said.
“It has to be noted that the contributions of Ambedkar were acknowledged by leaders such as Babu Rajendra Prasad and T T Krishnamachari. Even though Ambedkar acknowledged the advice of Benegal Narsing Rau, a legal luminary, in drafting the Constitution, Rau also complimented Ambedkar for the entire work. Krishnamachari went to the extent of describing Ambedkar as the ‘Chief Architect of the Constitution’. Even when former Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde commented on the Constitution, he apologised. Ex-MLC Go Madhusudhan was also silenced when he raked up an issue. The Dharma Sansad was tackled when it spoke on the Constitution. However, the opposition parties need an excuse to provoke the emotions of the people,” Prasad said.
Former chairman of Mysuru Urban Development Authority C Basavegowda was present.