AAP accuses BJP-led Delhi govt of insulting Ambedkar by renaming Ambedkar Schools as CM Shri Schools; BJP calls AAP’s charge political drama.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was accused by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of demeaning Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and the Dalit community by renaming Dr. Ambedkar Schools of Specialized Excellence (SoSE) as CM Shri Schools. In response to the accusation, the BJP said that the AAP was politicizing Ambedkar’s name for “petty political survival.”

During a press conference on Friday, AAP Delhi state president Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that the ruling was indicative of the BJP’s “anti-Ambedkar mindset.” He claimed that the BJP had erased Ambedkar’s images from official buildings after taking power and was currently removing his name from prestigious educational institutions. “The visage of Babasaheb is no longer visible in any picture of CM Rekha Gupta. The only image visible is that of the prime minister,” Bharadwaj asserted, calling the action a “deliberate insult to Dalit people.”

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He claimed that in order to further their beliefs, the AAP government had previously required Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Dr. B R Ambedkar’s images to be displayed in the chief minister’s, ministers’, and senior officials’ offices. He said, “Schools that were formerly named after a distinguished scholar who received numerous degrees from Columbia and London are now being renamed after the chief minister.” Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva and General Secretary Yogendra Chandolia denied the accusations, calling it “pathetic” that AAP leaders use Ambedkar’s name for political ends.

They said that the only action taken by the AAP during its ten years in power was to rename thirty-one Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalayas as Dr. B R Ambedkar Schools of Excellence. These schools subsequently lost their credibility when they were linked to the newly established Delhi Board of School Education.

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According to the BJP, “the upliftment of Dalits cannot be achieved by merely displaying Ambedkar’s photographs,” and it called for sincere efforts to promote social equality and education.