Nehru 'ill-treated' Ambedkar; SC/ST communities should be informed: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 24 (PTI): Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday claimed that it was India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who "insulted" B R Ambedkar and even joined hands with the Left parties to defeat him in elections.
His remarks come in the wake of Congress' continuous accusations against the BJP of "disrespecting" Constitutional principles and "insulting" Ambedkar.
Joshi, the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Food, and Consumer Affairs, urged local BJP workers to visit every street, with a special focus on the SC/ST communities, to inform them about the alleged ill-treatment of Ambedkar by Nehru.
Speaking at the Constitution Pride Day event in Thiruvananthapuram, a programme the BJP is organising nationwide to mark the 75th year of the Constitution, the Union Minister claimed that Jawaharlal Nehru never wanted Ambedkar in the government, and it was only due to the insistence of Mahatma Gandhi that he was included.
Joshi also claimed that Congress undermined the Constitution by declaring the Emergency during Indira Gandhi's rule and making several amendments that went against its spirit.
"The Congress in the country was always against the welfare of SC/ST communities in the country," he contended.
He urged BJP workers to go beyond conducting Constitution Pride Day seminars in big hotels and take to the streets to inform people about the alleged injustice Ambedkar faced at the hands of Nehru.
BJP state president K Surendran accused Kerala of being the only state in the country attempting to undermine the Constitution.
"The state consistently passes legislation opposing central laws and rejects every law enacted by Parliament. The Constitution does not grant such powers to the states," Surendran claimed.
He further alleged that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government misuses powers not conferred by the Constitution and seeks to obstruct investigations conducted by national agencies.
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Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia returns to country after treatment in UK
Dhaka (PTI): Bangladesh's ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on Tuesday returned to the country from London after four months of medical treatment, according to media reports.
Zia went to London on January 8 for advanced medical care and was admitted to The London Clinic. After being discharged from the clinic, the BNP chairperson moved to her eldest son Tarique Rahman’s residence, where she has been receiving treatment.
A Qatari royal air ambulance carrying Khaleda and her entourage landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:42 am, BNP Media Cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.
Her two daughters-in-law – Tarique Rahman’s wife Zubaida Rahman and the late Arafat Rahman Coco’s wife Syeda Sharmila Rahman – are accompanying her.
The plane had departed from London’s Heathrow Airport at 4:20 pm local time. Tarique had driven his mother to the airport and seen her off, according to Khaleda’s private physician, Prof AZM Zahid Hossain.
The 79-year-old three-time prime minister has long suffered from liver cirrhosis, kidney disease, heart problems, diabetes, and arthritis.
Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, along with several senior party leaders, arrived at the airport around 8:30am to receive Khaleda.
Talking to reporters at the airport, Fakhrul expressed the hope that the return of party chairperson Khaleda Zia would facilitate the restoration and advancement of democracy in the country.
“She went abroad for treatment after years of suffering under fascist oppression. With the fall of fascism, she was finally able to receive proper medical care. After nearly four months of treatment, she is returning home today. It's a matter of great joy for us and the people,” the BNP leader was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.
Preparations have been completed at Khaleda’s Gulshan residence, Feroza, bdnews24 reported.
Security has been tightened around the walled compound, with police and members of the Chairperson’s Security Force (CSF) stationed at the premises.
Supporters have been instructed to stay on the pavements, carrying national and BNP flags, and avoid blocking roads. A large number of police, army, Rapid Action Battalion, Armed Police battalion and Ansar members have been deployed on the roads and near the airport area, the report said.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) also issued a notice on Monday, warning of potential traffic congestion in the Gulshan-Banani area due to excessive crowds gathering to welcome Khaleda.
In March, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court upheld a High Court ruling that acquitted Zia in a corruption case in which she was sentenced to seven years in jail by a lower court.
Zia was convicted in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case in 2018 by a Dhaka court. The court sentenced her to seven years imprisonment and fined her Taka 1 million.
Zia now stands acquitted in both the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust cases, in which she had previously been convicted and sentenced, Maksud Ullah, a lawyer for the BNP chairperson, was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper.
The BNP chairperson was lodged in the Old Dhaka Central Jail on February 8, 2018, after the Dhaka court sentenced her in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government temporarily released Zia from jail after 776 days through an executive order, suspending her sentence on March 25, 2020, with conditions that she would stay in her house and not leave the country.
On August 6 last year, after the ouster of the Hasina regime, Zia was freed by an order of President Mohammed Shahabuddin.
Zia served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006.
