Opinion | Who Took Care Of Ambedkar's Legacy? PM Modi Settles The Debate

“If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think their malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr. Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken! The people of India have seen time and again how one Party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar and humiliate the SC/ST communities.”

The strong opening of a thread posted on X by Prime Minister Narendra Modi sets the tone. He then proceeds to list multiple wrongs committed by the Congress party, beginning with India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, while highlighting what his government has done to honour the memory of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and carry forward his legacy.

It's a fact that Ambedkar, feeling neglected as the law minister in Nehru's cabinet, resigned in September 1951. He spoke in Parliament, explaining why he was compelled to resign and how Prime Minister Nehru consistently sidelined him. It is also true that the Congress and the Communists worked to defeat Ambedkar in two elections. Additionally, denying him the Bharat Ratna and refusing to place his portrait in Parliament's Central Hall were significant oversights.

These are facts that even Congress and its aligned groups cannot dispute. Modi had also touched upon these points in his concluding remarks during the two-day-long debate on the “Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Indian Constitution” in the Lok Sabha.

PM Modi must have thought it prudent to make a series of posts on X to clarify the issue, lest Congress's allegations against Home Minister Amit Shah—specifically, that he insulted Ambedkar—gain traction.

Parliamentary election results have shown that issues related to Ambedkar and reservations have become highly sensitive. The politics surrounding these issues can significantly impact the fortunes of political parties. Modi couldn't afford to let the Congress, its allies, and associated groups dominate the conversation.

Let's first consider how it all began. The two Houses of Parliament saw an impassioned debate on the journey of the Constitution on Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. Several speakers deviated from the listed topic, but it was still encouraging to see Parliament finally functioning, after days of forced adjournments.

The Congress had demanded the debate after the Constitution Day (November 26), which was observed in the Central Hall of the old Parliament House. The observance of Samvidhan Diwas, or Constitution Day, to commemorate the adoption of the Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly, was initiated by the Modi government in 2015. The Congress wanted its views to be reflected and recorded on the subject.

After all, Congress's de facto leader and Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, has been waving a copy of the Constitution and claiming to be its protector. His sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, took her oath as an MP while holding a copy of the Constitution in one hand. The party's strategists must have thought that this would be the perfect occasion to criticise the government and its alleged assault on institutions.

The strategy was also to use the occasion as a launch platform for Priyanka Gandhi, who was making her parliamentary debut in this session. She was fielded as the lead speaker from Congress on the first day of the debate, while Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to speak on the second day, ahead of the Prime Minister's concluding address.

However, the Congress, which had ruled the country for over 55 years, and its strategists just could not anticipate the kind of bouncers coming their way. The treatment of the Constitution and constitutional institutions by Congress's first family—from Jawaharlal Nehru's time as Prime Minister in 1947, through the regimes of Indira Gandhi, Rajeev Gandhi, and Manmohan Singh (when UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi used to call the shots)—proved to be a sore point.

The BJP and its allies were well-prepared to counter Congress, particularly focusing on its most vulnerable point—the first family. Anyone watching the debate could see that the speeches of PM Modi in the Lok Sabha and Home Minister Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha caused considerable discomfort to Congress and its allies. The facts presented in the House were clearly against them.

It wasn't just the Prime Minister or the Home Minister's speeches; remarks from several BJP allies, particularly the JD(U) and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), were equally sharp. The Congress had hyped Priyanka's maiden speech as the “moment the world has been waiting for”. However, her mention of the plight of apple farmers in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh, combined with her carrying a bag with a “Palestine” logo, sparked greater public discussion.

Similarly, Rahul Gandhi's definition of tapasya and his version of the Eklavya story went viral on social media, but they did little to boost Congress's standing.

The situation wasn't any better in the Rajya Sabha for the leaders of the Congress-led INDIA bloc. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and other Congress leaders ended up defending Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

Can a 12-second video clip undo the damage? Seems unlikely.

(The author is Consulting Editor, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author