Can’t share Ambedkar pie: Udit Raj, Maya snub Katiyar

State BJP president Vinay Katiyar’s attempt to project Ambedkar as ‘‘anti-Muslim’’ has not only led to a rift betwe...

State BJP president Vinay Katiyar’s attempt to project Ambedkar as ‘‘anti-Muslim’’ has not only led to a rift between Chief Minister Mayawati and him but has also prompted other parties, having an eye on the Dalit votebank, to join in the war of words.

‘‘The BJP chief should quote Ambedkar’s thoughts in the right perspective and in totality. We will launch an agitation if he continues to come out with such incomplete statements about Ambedkar on particular issues,’’ said Udit Raj, chairman of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Employees.

Even RLD protests Katiyar’s remarks

Muzaffarnagar: Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Vinay Katiyar’s anti-Muslim remarks have evoked strong protests from ally Rashtriya Lok Dal which asserted that attempts to spread hatred between different communities would not be tolerated.

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“Muslims are also citizens of the country and have equal rights like others. Muslims do not need a certificate from any one,” senior rld leader and state Minister Kokab Hamid told reporters here. “Attempts to spread hatred between different communities will not be tolerated,” he said. (Agencies)

Katiyar, at present, is on an exhaustive tour of the state. He is holding meetings in different districts with the single agenda of projecting Ambedkar as ‘‘anti-Muslim’’ by quoting excerpts from his book Thought On Pakistan. He will continue his sojourn till January 12, by which time he will finish covering most of the 30 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Sensing trouble, Mayawati has already claimed that what Katiyar is telling the people is a lie. ‘‘Ambedkar had never termed Muslims as terrorists. Those (read Katiyar) who are giving such baseless statements, quoting Ambedkar, should refrain from the exercise because it hurts the feelings of his followers,’’ she said in a written statement recently.

Katiyar, however, is unfazed. ‘‘What I have said is written in the book penned by Ambedkar himself. I am happy that my attempt to bring out the truth has set off a debate on a personality like Ambedkar,’’ he said.

‘‘The BSP is responsible for the creation of a rift between Dalits and Muslims. Had Mayawati not helped Modi win by a comfortable margin by campaigning on an aggressive Hindutva card in Gujarat, the BJP would have never dared to take up the Ambedkar issue,’’ said Udit Raj.

Anjana Krishna, IPS officer who stood firm against Ajit Pawar, is no stranger to overcoming setbacks

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Maharashtra-cadre IPS officer Anjana Krishna V S, who was in the news for being “reprimanded” by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar while taking action over alleged illegal mining, grew up on the outskirts of an area of Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district that has become notorious for the illegal granite mining.

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