We will go it alone: Ambedkar

Addressing a huge gathering here at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial ground, on Monday, he said Dalits had become a football in the two-party system which made them helpless and dependable. quot;It doesn8217;t matter if we lose a few sitting MPs. In return we will have self-respect,quot; he said.

He said Congress leaders were sure that the RPI would join them to fight the saffron alliance but this would not be the case. He added the Congress had some psuedo secularists.

Lambasting the BJP-led central government, Ambedkar said the secular fabric was under cloud. Soaring prices, wrong policies and unemployment is the order of the day.

He said since independence, tribals faced terrible economic and social conditions. 8220;When Christian missionaries have extended them a helping hand, they have succumbed to the ire of the VHP, RSS and BJP,8221; he said. He asked the communal forces to delve into the reason behind conversions.

Ambedkar also asked Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for an open discussion on conversion.

Ambedkar came down heavily on former chief minister Sharad Pawar and RPI leader Ramdas Athawale. He said Pawar had double-standard politics while Athawale who was social welfare minister for five years did not bother to solve the problems of Dalits and the students.

Later, talking to press reporters, Ambedkar said his party felt there should be a separate Vidarbha state. He also said if Pawar wished that the RPI should support him. he should first quit the Congress.