Paying rich tributes to B R Ambedkar, BJP chief Amit Shah today said he along with Sardar Patel was responsible for tackling the two biggest challenges facing India after independence and stated that the respect with which people look at the Constitution would be "impossible" had Ambedkar not been its drafting committee head.
Heaping praise on him at his 60th death anniversary, Shah said Ambedkar shaped the Constitution in a way that it united the society and gave a sense of justice and equality to all religions and communities.
Speaking at a function organised at the party headquarters here, he said it was due to initiatives of the BJP government at the Centre that so many events related to the Dalit icon were happening and reminded about the two-day discussion in Parliament on the Constitution and other measures taken by the Narendra Modi dispensation to make his memory eternal.
BJP has aggressively worked to claim the legacy of Patel and Ambedkar since it came to power in May last year with the saffron party hoping to woo over Dalits, a crucial political constituency.
Shah said the government's efforts have helped remind the new generation of Ambedkar's works and mentioned that all the places linked to the Dalit icon including the house in London where he had stayed have been made a memorial.
It has also sent a message to the deprived and backward sections that the man who made Constitution hailed from their community and rose through struggle and education, he said.
"Among the challenges faced by the country following independence, political pundits believe that two things stood out... How to unify the country divided into many small parts was one challenge and the second was how to make a new Constitution that unites all parts of society to make a united India in which all of them had respect.
"Due to Sardar Patel and his indefatigable efforts, this country became one... And the second important work would have never finished had Baba Saheb Ambedkar been not there. It was a huge challenge to make a Constitution that gave hope to all communities and the feeling that they were parts of this country," Shah said.
The BJP chief said it was a very important decision to make him the chairman of the drafting committee, adding that he shaped the Constitution in a way that gave every community a sense of respect for it and that they all could progress together with equality.
"I believe if Ambedkar was not made its (drafting committee) chairman, then the respect with which people attached to the Constitution would be impossible," he said.
It is the duty of BJP workers to work with harmony in society to help lift all sections of people, he added.
