Modi is not the country, RSS is not Parliament, says Kejriwal

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra on Thursday and said merely paying tributes to BR Ambedkar at his birthplace would not bring about any change as the Centre has been violating principles enshrined in the Constitution at will.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra on Thursday and said merely paying tributes to BR Ambedkar at his birthplace would not bring about any change as the Centre has been violating principles enshrined in the Constitution at will.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the inaugural ceremony of Maritime India Summit 2016 in Mumbai on Thursday.(PTI)

Prime Minister Modi, who has faced attack from opposition parties for trying to “appropriate” national icons, had visited Ambedkar’s birthplace Mhow in Madhya Pradesh to mark the 125th birth anniversary of the father of the Constitution.

“Modi desh nahin hain, RSS sansad nahin hai aur Manusmriti samvidhan nahin hai (Modi is not the country, RSS is not Parliament and Manusmriti is not the Constitution),” Kejriwal said while addressing a Delhi government function at Talkatora stadium to mark the occasion.

The CM referred to the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula, suppression of freedom of speech, introduction of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, ‘interference’ in the Delhi government’s functioning and alleged use of foul language against women by Modi’s supporters on social media to back his argument against the BJP and RSS.

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He dared the Prime Minister to sack his two Cabinet colleagues whose roles were under the scanner in the Vemula suicide case.

“If at all the PM wants to pay real tribute to Ambedkar, he should sack the two colleagues, unfollow his supporters on Twitter who abuse women, stop trying to form governments in states through the back door, punish those who suppress freedom of speech and food habits and let the democratically elected Delhi government function independently,” the CM said.

Accusing the Centre of saffronising school education by ‘planning’ to introduce lessons on Veer Savarkar in NCERT books, he said the Delhi government will impart lessons on Ambedkar in the capital.

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“In a recent meeting of the NCERT board, HRD minister Smriti Irani discussed the idea of introducing a lesson on Savarkar. When Manish Sisodia opposed, Irani postponed the idea,” Kejriwal said.

He felicitated two Dalit achievers - Professor Sukhdeo Thorat and IAS officer Raj Sekhar Vundru - with the Ambedkar Ratna Award at the function.

Deviating from the past when Kejriwal generally began his public address with Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata ki Jai, he said Jai Bhim at the beginning and end of his speech.