Abide by Constitution, Dr. JP Tells extremists

The greatest tribute we can pay to Baba Saheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is to abide sincerely by the wonderful Constitution he helped craft, said Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan here today.

Addressing a gathering after garlanding Dr. Ambedkar’s statue on Tank Bund on his 119th birth anniversary, Dr. JP said the Constitution aimed at creating a society without discrimination based on religion and caste, region and language and at harmonizing conflicting interests peacefully.

Dr. JP said that traditional parties viewed the Constitution as a means to attaining power and enriching themselves at the cost of people instead of as a tool to provide growth opportunities for all by ensuring quality education and health care and livelihood skills and employment avenues.

It was true that many blunders had been committed in the last 60 years in the implementation of the Constitution because of which discrimination and repression continue even to this day. The blunders could not be rectified through a resort to the gun and violence as some believe, since the State wields bigger guns and is capable of greater violence. Common people are trampled when extremists wage a war against the State.

Dr. JP counseled that the Constitution be used as a means to bring about transformation in society peacefully.

Dr. JP recalled that Dr. Ambedkar likened the Constitution to a temple. He passed away regretting that even before deities could be installed in it, devils had taken it over. He underlined the need to maintain the sanctity of the Constitution and to make politics a noble profession.

Among Lok Satta leaders who took part in the function were V. Laxman Balaji, V. Vijayender Reddy, E. Chennayya, Dasari Ratnam and N. Saroja Devi.