Congress flays denial of permission to Rahul Gandhi to garland Ambedkar statue

With a controversy erupting over alleged denial of permission to Rahul Gandhi to garland the statue of BR Ambedkar in a UP
town, Congress today accused BSP of attempting to monopolise his legacy, saying that it belongs to the entire nation.
   
"It is very unfortunate. This is trying to monopolise a legacy which belongs to the entire country. Nobody has exclusive rights on the memory or the teachings of anynational leader. No political party should try to monopolise the legacy of our national leaders," Party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said in New Delhi.
   
He said the values, teachings and the goodwill generated by Ambedkar were not the exclusive domain of any one.

In Ambedkar Nagar where Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was to garland the Dalit icon's statue, UPCC President Rita Bahuguna Joshi complained that the entire administration was trying to prevent people from coming to Ambedkar Nagar by diverting the routes.
   
"I had a fight with the district magistrate this morning. We have told them that we have taken enough lying low," she said.
      
Congress Legislative Party leader of UP Pramod Tewari earlier said his party had sought written permission from the district administration for 39-year-old Rahul to garland Ambedkar's statue at Amedkarnagar but were denied the same.
       
However, district magistrate Kunwar Vikram Singh later said, "We have not denied permission but we will allow the garlanding of the statue by Congress leaders only after the BSP's function ends here."
       
The BSP's function here is scheduled from 10 am to 4 pm while the Congress function is planned from 10 am to 2 pm.
      
Both the Congress and BSP are preparing to play their Dalit card on the 119th birth anniversary of Ambedkar and both the parties have organised functions at a short distance of each other in this district. The Ambedkar statue in question is in the middle of the two places.