Hyderabad, Oct 15 (IANS) Four different Dalit organisations have accused the Congress party of practising political opportunism and selective social justice in the Ankita Bhandari case.
In an open letter to the leadership of the Congress party on Thursday, these organisations stated that the Congress party’s intervention in the Ankita Bhandari case raises serious questions about its commitment to constitutional morality and the consistency of its politics.
Separate open letters have been released by SC Hakkula Porata Sangham, Hyderabad, Dr B. R. Ambedkar Volleyball Club, Hyderabad, NBCC SC/ST Employees Welfare Association, New Delhi and SAIL SC & ST Employees Federation, New Delhi.
“The participation of senior Congress leaders in the India Gate protest has brought the issue into the national political arena. Yet, the larger question remains: Is social justice a consistent principle for Congress, or a political instrument invoked when it serves partisan interests?” they asked.
Dalit intellectuals, academics and representatives of social-justice organisations believe that constitutional values must never become tools of political convenience.
“Our objection is not to democratic protest, public scrutiny or institutional accountability. It is to the selective invocation of principles that ought to apply universally. A party that routinely lectures the nation on constitutional morality must demonstrate consistency in its own political conduct,” reads the letter.
“For the Dalit community, this question carries particular significance. Generations of Ambedkarite movements have struggled for equality before the law, institutional accountability and the substantive realisation of social justice. These ideals cannot be reduced to convenient political vocabulary. Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s legacy demands more than rhetorical references to the Constitution. It demands intellectual honesty, principled conduct and equal standards of accountability,” they said.
“We therefore call upon the Congress leadership to reflect on the perception that its commitment to social justice becomes most visible when a controversy offers an opportunity to challenge its political opponents. Social justice cannot be selective. Constitutional morality cannot be convenient. And Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy cannot be reduced to a
partisan instrument. India deserves a politics guided by consistent principles, institutional responsibility and genuine commitment to equality, not selective outrage dictated by political expediency,” they said.
The letters were signed by Maredu Mohan, Founder President, SC Hakkula Porata Sangham, Kranthi Kiran, President and other office-bearers of Dr B. R. Ambedkar Volleyball Club, S. K. Soni and Manoj Kumar, President and General Secretary, respectively, of NBCC SC/ST Employees Welfare Association and office-bearers of SAIL SC & ST Employees Federation.
–IANS
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