New Delhi: With Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh approaching, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday yet again reached out to dalits by hailing ‘Dalit icon’ B.R. Ambedkar and raising the slogan “Babasaheb means Constitution and Constitution means Babasaheb”. At the same time, the Prime Minister also stressed on the importance of adhering to the Constitution by saying, “time has changed and everyone keeps trying to find their rights in the Constitution and even try to augment them. Some clever people even try to make the Constitution the basis and misuse it to cross their limits.”
In UP, dalits are numerically stronger and considered Mayawati-led BSP’s backbone, which many feel has better chances than the ruling SP and BJP in the coming Assembly elections. For the BJP, whose traditional vote bank consists of Brahmins, Thakurs and traders, and wooing dalits and OBCs is one of the key focus areas of its election strategy. Emphasising on the importance of connecting with the “spirit” of Constitutional ideals, Mr Modi, at the launch of books on the Indian Constitution in Parli-ament on Friday, said “Babasaheb means Con-stitution and Constitution means Babasaheb. Such accomplishment is unparallelled,” adding that over time we realise more and more, how great this work is. He said that when India acquired Inde-pendence, the sense of duty in its citizens was very high but as time passed by, “it has converted to a sense of rights and entitlement”.
“The challenge is how to strike a balance between duty and rights,” he said.
Referring to the Constitution Day, the PM said the strength of January 26, which is celebrated as the ‘Republic Day’ , lies in November 26.
He said the new generation should connect with the Constitution, its processes and its objectives and in schools and colleges, the Constitution should be read and celebrated.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who was present at the event, said that the books are an attempt towards ensuring that aspects of the Constitution were better understood.
