Congress leader calls Rahul Gandhi 2nd Ambedkar, BJP decries insult of Dalits

Congress leader Udit Raj stirred a political controversy on Saturday after drawing parallels between Rahul Gandhi and Dr BR Ambedkar. His remarks sparked a sharp backlash from several BJP leaders, who called the comparison a “big insult” to the architect of the Constitution.

Taking to X, Udit Raj wrote, “Other Backward Classes people will have to think that history does not give opportunities for progress again and again. They should follow and support what Rahul Gandhi said in the Talkatora Stadium conference. If they do so, then Rahul Gandhi will prove to be the second Ambedkar for them.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday admitted that not conducting a caste census earlier was his mistake and pledged to correct it now.

He told the gathering that it was not the Congress party but he himself who had erred in not pushing for a caste census earlier. "I regret that if I had known more about your history and issues, I would have got the caste census conducted. That is my mistake and not that of the Congress. I am going to correct that mistake now," Gandhi said.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju strongly objected to the comment, saying, “I take serious objection to the Congress comparing Babasaheb Ambedkar with Rahul Gandhi.”

BJP Spokesperson Pardeep Bhandari also reacted sharply. In a post on X, he said, “This is a big insult of Baba Saheb Ambedkar! There is a competition of ‘bootlicking’ in Congress.

Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar also hit out at Udit Raj and Rahul Gandhi. “First, Rahul Gandhi should do something for the country. He has not done any work even for a day in his life so far. He is living on taxpayers' money, lives in a big house. He should first do something for the country, people and say something good about the country, then people will decide what is he,” he wrote on X.

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