Bhopal, Jan 27 Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Minister Vishvas Sarang on Monday launched a scathing attack on Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over the party's nationwide 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' programme and demanded an apology for what he termed as "insulting" Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
The Congress party launched the programme from Mhow, the birthplace of Dr Ambedkar, as a tribute to the architect of the Indian Constitution.
Reacting to the programme, Sarang told IANS, "If Rahul Gandhi genuinely wants to show respect to Ambedkar, he must first apologise for the insults Ambedkar faced at the hands of late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Pandit Nehru deliberately hindered Ambedkar's path to the Lok Sabha, and Ambedkar himself accepted this."
Slamming the visit to Mhow, Sarang stated, "I will welcome Rahul Gandhi's visit only if he apologises for the repeated insults inflicted on Ambedkar by his ancestors."
"He (Rahul Gandhi) is from the Nehru family, that is the sole reason he is in politics today," he further stated.
The Madhya Pradesh Minister further accused the Congress of 'hypocrisy', saying, "If Rahul Gandhi wants to discuss the Constitution, he should also apologise for how Indira Gandhi insulted it during the Emergency and for dissolving democratically-elected state governments for political gain. She misused the Constitution."
The Congress' Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi was also scheduled to attend the 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan' rally, however, she decided not to attend.
Sarang also commented on the absence of Priyanka Gandhi from the programme, calling it unsurprising and labelling the Congress' initiative as mere political theatrics.
"It is all a drama. The Congress only engages in such tours to further its political ambitions; it has no connection to the ground reality," Sarang added.
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