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BJP quotes Antyoday to woo Dalits Vikas Pathak New Delhi, April 13, 2010 First Published: 23:50 IST(13/4/2010) Last Updated: 23:52 IST(13/4/2010) Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said social justice should be a commitment and not a “drama” aimed at publicity, in an oblique attack on Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to reach out to Dalits. The BJP chief said the party, inspired by Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s Antyoday, shared B.R. Ambedkar’s ideal of social justice without seeing it as a mere instrument for power. Gadkari, speaking on the eve of Ambedkar Jayanti, launched an attack on Maoists while invoking the Dalit icon. His argument: the Constitution, which the Maoists wanted to destroy, was an outcome of Ambedkar’s efforts. “We will strongly oppose the Maoists who attack Dr Ambedkar’s constitution.” LK Advani delivered the same message in Badami in Karnataka: root out Maoism and recall Ambedkar’s contributions. Though Gadkari did not refer directly to Congress leader Rahul, the context had been set by BJP spokesperson Ramnath Kovind, a Dalit. “Rahul Gandhi’s meals at Dalit houses are just for publicity,” Kovind said minutes before Gadkari. “But Gadkariji did not resort to dikhaava (showing off).” Gadkari has been attempting to expand the BJP’s Dalit base as part of a larger attempt to increase the party’s vote share by 10 percentage points. ------------------------------------ ---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to [email protected] TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to [email protected] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
