At BJP president and Union Minister J P Nadda’s home in New Delhi on Wednesday, members of the ruling NDA convened to discuss how to present a unified front against the opposition’s “narrative” regarding the Constitution and Dr. B R Ambedkar.
In light of the INDIA bloc’s attacks on the government and ruling alliance, particularly following Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in the Rajya Sabha that the Congress deemed to be a “insult” of Ambedkar, the TDP, a significant BJP ally, emphasised the need for improved NDA coordination.
NDA leaders gathered for nearly an hour at Nadda’s home hours after honouring former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Sources said the leaders discussed the Opposition onslaught against the BJP over Shah’s remark, caste census and social justice politics.
According to reports, Shah informed the leaders—including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and TDP leader—that the Congress was attempting to fabricate “false narratives.” According to sources, the TDP also believed that the opposition was spreading a “false narrative.” The message was unmistakable: the partners needed to coordinate in order for the NDA to effectively rebut the opposition narrative. According to sources, BJP leaders accused the Congress of misleading the public by making Shah’s comment about Ambedkar “an issue.” “In the meeting, we were told how the Congress MPs did not react when Shah, in his speech in Rajya Sabha, made the remark. But later, Congress leaders held a meeting where Rahul Gandhi was present and they decided to make the remark an issue to be highlighted. So, Congress conspired to make Shah’s comment an issue to only draw attention,” a leader familiar with the discussions said.
Senior Union Ministers and other BJP leaders also informed NDA members of the “misdeeds” of previous Congress administrations, such as “insulting Ambedkar” and declaring emergency. The BJP urged NDA allies to “expose” the Congress locally and inform the public of the actions taken by the BJP-led NDA government to honour Ambedkar’s memory, such as creating Panch Tirths (five places of pilgrimage), and to “empower” Dalits by providing them with their fair share of welfare programs. According to reports, BJP allied leaders met with Nadda one-on-one after the meeting to discuss matters pertaining to their different agendas and states.
The meeting was not attended by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde or Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. According to reports, the figures in attendance were pleased with the NDA’s wins in the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections, which came months after the alliance’s vote in the Lok Sabha elections slightly declined. The JD(U) was represented by Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh and the Shiv Sena by Union MoS Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav. Also in attendance were Union Minister and JD (S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, Civil Aviation Minister and TDP leader K Rammohan Naidu, former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha and Union Ministers Anupriya Patel, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Sanjay Nishad.
Shah talked extensively about current political events, particularly what happened during the winter session of Parliament and the lessons learnt from it, according to sources. He informed the leaders that the Congress had never respected Ambedkar and was now attempting to fabricate a story to support it, which needed to be vigorously and collectively resisted.
The NDA meeting took place a day before the extended meeting of the Congress Working Committee in Belagavi where it is set to mount a fresh offensive against the BJP over the issues of Ambedkar and caste census. In addition to commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s president of the Congress in 1924, the Congress plans to corner the BJP and NDA over Ambedkar and the Constitution by holding a public gathering called the Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan rally after the Congress meeting.
