Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar endured hardship and humiliation to break social barriers and earn respect for the entire country.

“It was because of Baba Saheb that every citizen received the right to vote,” he added.

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The Chief Minister was speaking at a seminar held at Gorakhpur Club as part of the Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar Samman Abhiyan.

He said, “Many leading countries with developed and modern democracies granted voting rights to black people and women much later, but India, with the formation of its Constitution, granted the right to vote to SC/STs, backward classes, and women during the very first general election of 1952. This was made possible because of Baba Saheb. The credit for binding the country with the thread of unity goes to him.”

The CM further mentioned that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar worked tirelessly to draft the Constitution, but grew agitated when the Congress began making repeated amendments to it. Despite Congress’s attempts to prevent his entry into the Constituent Assembly, Baba Saheb’s popularity and commitment to the nation ensured his membership. He was later appointed Chairman of the Drafting Committee, although even that appointment faced opposition, including from Pandit Nehru.

“There were conspiracies to stop him, but through his intelligence and hard work, he gave India a Constitution that made us the world’s largest democracy,” the Chief Minister stated.

He highlighted that Dr Ambedkar’s contributions ensured SC/ST students received full scholarships, job reservations, and social dignity through inclusion in the mainstream. “This is Baba Saheb’s gift to the nation,” he said.

The CM also accused Congress and the Samajwadi Party of creating division and unrest in society. He pointed out that in 1952, Congress prevented Dr. Ambedkar from winning elections and even awarded the opponent who defeated him with a Padma honor.

In 1954, the Congress fielded Ambedkar’s own personal assistant against him in a by-election, leading to another defeat. Dr Ambedkar only entered Parliament when a Hindu Mahasabha MP vacated the Pune seat, he said.

According to the Chief Minister, Congress feared Dr Ambedkar’s dedication, wisdom, and strong support for SC/STs and national unity. “Rahul Gandhi now carries a copy of the Constitution, but it’s ironic because these are the same people who once disrespected Dr. Ambedkar,” he said.

Yogi also recalled how Congress withdrew support from then-Prime Minister Chandrashekhar when he attempted to name a government building after Dr. Ambedkar. It was former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee who later completed the work, and PM Narendra Modi who built a memorial in Baba Saheb’s honor.

The CM added that Baba Saheb achieved in 65 years what others could not accomplish in centuries. He criticized Congress for never building a single memorial for Dr Ambedkar despite being in power multiple times between 1947 and 2009. In contrast, he said, the BJP created five major memorials (Panchteerth) dedicated to him. “Since 2015, November 26 is celebrated as Constitution Day,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that while many may raise popular slogans in Dr. Ambedkar’s name, only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) truly follows his values and ideals. He recalled that Baba Saheb had urged his followers to “get educated, stay united, and resist injustice.”

Citing an example from history, CM Yogi shared how Dr Ambedkar wrote letters to Hindus and Scheduled Caste communities during the atrocities committed by the Nizam of Hyderabad. In his letters, Baba Saheb advised people not to convert to Islam under pressure and instead relocate to Maharashtra if necessary, but never to bow before the Nizam.

“When villages were being burnt down by the Nizam and his Razakars, Baba Saheb stood with the people,” Yogi said, adding that it was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who ultimately freed Hyderabad and restored dignity to its citizens.

Speaking about his personal experience, the CM said that during his time as an MP, he visited Kushinagar after reports of starvation deaths among the Musahar community. “At that time, the Samajwadi Party was in power in Uttar Pradesh. I found that ration cards meant for Musahars were held by SP officials, who were siphoning off the rations while the actual families starved,” he said.

He added that today, under the BJP-led double-engine government, every Musahar, Tharu, Vantangiya, Chero, and Kol family in the state has land, a home, a ration card, and an Ayushman Bharat health card. He emphasized that the state is steadily moving towards the goal of zero poverty, with efforts to saturate welfare schemes so that no eligible person is left out. He also mentioned that under the PM Swamitva Yojana, over one crore people in Uttar Pradesh have already received land ownership documents.

“Before 2017 in UP and before 2014 elsewhere, ration never reached the poor because those in power lacked the will to serve,” he said. He added that encephalitis deaths, which mostly affected SC, ST, and minority children, went unchecked under previous governments.

“While I stood alone with the BJP to fight this crisis, the SP and Congress never stood with the people in their pain,” he said, noting that encephalitis is no longer a major threat thanks to collective efforts under BJP rule.

Yogi recalled that in 2012, soon after coming to power, the then-SP government announced plans to demolish memorials built in Lucknow in honor of icons like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, Savitribai Phule, and Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj. “We opposed it and said — if you try to destroy them, we’ll resist, because these great personalities led the movement for social justice and gave voice to the voiceless.”

He accused the SP of deliberately erasing Ambedkar’s legacy, citing examples like the removal of his name from Kannauj Medical College and the renaming of a proposed university in Lucknow from Kanshi Ram to one focused on Urdu, Persian, and Arabic. “Our government restored these names because we honor these leaders for their values, not for political gains,” he said.

The Chief Minister stated that despite four opportunities to rule the state, the SP failed to provide basic rights to the poor — homes, land, health cards, ration, and support for daughters’ marriages. “In 2015-16, they even stopped scholarships meant for Scheduled Caste students,” he added. “They only developed their own families, while our mantra is ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.’”

Taking a swipe at the opposition alliance, Yogi said, “Parties in the INDIA bloc tried to mislead people during the Lok Sabha elections, but it was Prime Minister Modi who placed the original copy of the Constitution on his head while entering the new Parliament, a true mark of respect.”

He accused the SP and Congress of trying to incite caste-based conflict. “One SP MLA insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji and praised Aurangzeb. Their MP insulted Rana Sanga and glorified Babur, who demolished the Ram Janmabhoomi,” he said.

“Their leaders even belittled Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel while praising Jinnah — the man responsible for the violence against Hindus in Pakistan and Dalits in Bangladesh.”