India is abuzz with political activity as general elections approach. India will hold general elections between April 16 and May 13, a mammoth process in which 714 million people will cast their votes. Main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani who made a whistle-stop tour of Thiruvananthapuram termed the ruling coalition as a failure on all fronts.

“BJP does not have any idea of our constitutional history. It is a shame that BJP is dragging itself in the name of Ambedkar. The BJP is hypocritical on Ambedkar. The comments of Arun Shourie are also unwarranted,” said Abhishek Mansinghvi, spokesperson of the Congress.

Earlier, Advani had accused the Congress of adopting tactics which “ensured” defeat of Ambedkar.” After Independence, when the first government of the country was taking shape, at that time Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru gave priority to give berth only to Congressmen in it. But Gandhiji advised him to include scholar leaders like Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Dr Ambedkar in the government,” Advani said.

“Though Dr Ambedkar was later made chairman of the committee formed for framing the Indian Constitution in which he had ensured that all sections of society are protected, Congress at the time of elections adopted such tactics which ensured his defeat in the polls,” Advani claimed. “Unhe Congress ne Parajit Karvaya (He (Ambedkar) was defeated by the Congress),” Advani charged.

Advani also termed the “incidents of disrespect shown by Congress towards Ambedkar as the party’s political vendetta against the Dalit messiah”.
(With inputs from agencies)