The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tore into the BJP for removing the portraits of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh from the Chief Minister’s Office in the Delhi Secretariat. Former Delhi CM and Leader of Opposition Atishi directly questioned whether the BJP considers PM Narendra Modi greater than Babasaheb Ambedkar. “If Modi ji is not bigger than Babasaheb, why was Babasaheb Ambedkar’s picture replaced with PM Modi’s in the Assembly and CM’s Office?” she asked.
Pointing out to the BJP’s anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh face, Atishi asserted that Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy belongs to the oppressed, including Dalits and women, and vowed to keep invoking his name.
Senior AAP leader and Leader of Opposition Atishi held a press conference at her office in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday and said, “The BJP has revealed its true face to the entire nation. Yesterday, the BJP removed Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar’s portrait from the Chief Minister’s office in the Delhi Secretariat, the Assembly, and the offices of all ministers in the Delhi Secretariat, replacing it with a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
The Leader of Opposition asked the BJP: Do they believe that Narendra Modi is greater than Babasaheb Ambedkar? Do they think PM Modi can take Babasaheb Ambedkar’s place? Let us not forget that this is the same BJP whose senior leader and Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, once mocked Babasaheb Ambedkar on the floor of Parliament.
“But we, the people of this country, empowered by the Constitution, will continue to say Babasaheb Ambedkar’s name again and again—Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar! We demand answers from the BJP. What do they truly think of Babasaheb Ambedkar?” She asked.
Atishi questioned, “Why was Babasaheb Ambedkar’s picture removed from the office of Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and replaced with that of Narendra Modi? Why was the picture of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh removed from Manjinder Singh Sirsa’s office? Manjinder Singh Sirsa must answer.”
She further asked, “Why was Babasaheb Ambedkar’s picture removed from Minister Kapil Mishra’s office and replaced with a picture of Narendra Modi? Kapil Mishra must answer whether he believes PM Modi is greater than Babasaheb Ambedkar.”
Pointing to a photo released by the BJP, Atishi said, “This image swap was carried out by the BJP. Just a day after Rekha Gupta took charge as Chief Minister, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s picture was removed, and PM Modi’s was put in its place
Addressing the BJP, the Leader of Opposition asked, “Today, on behalf of the entire nation—on behalf of the country’s women, whom Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution empowered; on behalf of Dalits, whom Babasaheb Ambedkar gave equal rights; on behalf of every marginalized and oppressed community that Babasaheb Ambedkar uplifted through the Constitution—I ask the BJP: Do you believe Narendra Modi is greater than Babasaheb Ambedkar? Is that why you are replacing his image with PM Modi’s?”
