Bengaluru, April 14 : Responding to criticism by the BJP against the Congress party's alleged 'ill treatment' and 'insult' to B. R. Ambedkar, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah clarified on Monday that the first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru did not oppose the architect of the Constitution.

'The BJP today opposes Jawaharlal Nehru, but Nehru never opposed Ambedkar. If he had, he would not have chosen him to draft the Constitution. When the Hindu Code Bill was introduced, Nehru supported it. Certain forces within the country prevented its implementation at that time, but Nehru tried to implement its provisions during his tenure,' said the Chief Minister while addressing the inauguration of the birth anniversary celebration of the great humanist Babasaheb Ambedkar, held on the grand steps of Vidhana Soudha.

The Chief Minister said that the very forces - Manuvadis - who opposed Ambedkar's Constitution and were responsible for Mahatama Gandhi's assassination are now trying to claim them as their own.

'A few days after the Constitution was implemented, 'The Organiser' magazine published articles opposing the Constitution. Today, they claim that the Congress defeated Ambedkar, but it was Savarkar and Communist leader S.A. Dange who were responsible for his electoral defeat, as Ambedkar himself had written in a letter,' he said.

He added that only for political gain, the BJP is now trying to portray Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and Ambedkar as their own.

'Let us not forget, Ambedkar had said, 'I was born a Hindu, but I will not die a Hindu'. He tried to reform Hinduism, but realising it was not possible, he embraced Buddhism, a religion of humanity and equality,' said Siddaramaiah.

The Chief Minister claimed that the government is making efforts to follow the mantra of education, organisation, and struggle as advocated by B.R. Ambedkar, and will make a 'sincere' attempt to build the kind of society he envisioned.

'Even before the Constitution came into effect, Ambedkar had warned that we were entering a society full of contradictions. Ambedkar had said that for the ideals of the Constitution to be fulfilled, inequality and untouchability must be eradicated. As long as the caste system exists, equality and the abolition of untouchability are impossible. Without Ambedkar, universal access to education would not have been possible,' he said.

He said that ad the budget grows, allocations to SCSP/TSP must also increase, adding that the BJP government reduced them.

The Chief Minister also claimed that to realise Ambedkar's vision, the Congress government introduced guarantee schemes that increased the purchasing power of our people.

'It's not right that educated people are turning more casteist. The purpose of education is not to create casteist individuals. Muslims must not be deprived of education or opportunities. That's why, as per the Constitution, we are ensuring opportunities for all poor people across all castes and religions. But even for this, the Congress is being accused of appeasing Muslims,' he said.

He further claimed that the Karnataka government under Congress is walking the path Ambedkar laid for building a pluralistic nation and a brotherhood-based society.

The Chief Minister also announced the establishment of a Constitution Chair at the University of Mysore, and a grand Ambedkar statue in Bengaluru, surpassing the model in Andhra Pradesh.

/IANS