Siddaramaiah invokes Ambedkar in call to defeat BJP-RSS in 2024 LS elections

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday accused the BJP of resorting to a practice of keeping idols and suppressing ideas, saying that the BJP, which opposes the Constitution, is creating drama by keeping its architect B.R. Ambedkar's statue for elections.

Addressing the 'Bhima Sankalpa' conference held at the town hall here by Dalit organisations of the state, he gave a call to Dalit organisations to defeat the BJP-RSS in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"Ambedkar gave a historic speech on the day before the implementation of the Constitution and warned that 'freedom of the country will be destroyed by its people itself, if social and economic inequality is not removed'.

"Society cannot progress on the basis of castes. The constitutional values should provide social and economical opportunities and my political commitment will provide such opportunities to the people," he said.

Siddaramaiah said that neither then BJP President Amit Shah nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi took any action against Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde who had stated that they came to power to change the Constitution. "But, we and you have changed the people who came to change the Constitution," he said and gave a call that the same should be repeated in 2024 as well.

The Chief Minister, mentioning the 13 demands submitted by the Aikya Horata Chaalana Samiti, said that many have already been fulfilled and promised the rest will be done too.

"The BJP who failed to fulfill the promises given to the people of the country are criticising us for implementing what we promised. BJP is trying to fail the guarantees we have given for the welfare of the poor and middle class. Hence it is trying to create confusionA among the people. Our Griha Lakshmi scheme reaches more than 85 per cent of people of the state," he said, adding that other guarantee schemes will reach a large number of people.