Adityanath takes veiled dig at Mohammad Ali Jauhar on Ambedkar's death anniversary

Lucknow, Dec 6 (PTI) Remembering B R Ambedkar on his 69th birth anniversary, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday claimed that the architect of the Indian Constitution once said that “comments made by a person who is born on India's soil, consumes its facilities, yet considers India's soil as unholy can never be in the interest of Indians”.

Adityanath was apparently referring to Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, a prominent figure of the Khilafat movement, who was buried in Jerusalem in 1931 according to his own wish.

Addressing a 'Mahaparinirvaan Diwas' (death anniversary) programme here, Adityanath said, "Babasaheb Ambedkar made us aware of the dangers of that time. Remember, a prominent leader, while serving as the president of the Congress in 1923, had refused to sing Vande Mataram. When his final moments arrived, he expressed his desire to die in Jerusalem.

“At that time, Babasaheb Ambedkar said that ‘a person who is born on India's soil, has enjoyed its facilities and yet considers India's soil as unholy, his comments can never be in the interest of Indians’.” Mohammad Ali Jauhar had presided over the Kakinada session of the Congress in 1923.

Adityanath added that “unfortunately”, those taking to “appeasement” are not only harming India, but are also “insulting Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar”.

“A part of their effort is also to deprive the countrymen of the different facilities,” Adityanath claimed. PTI NAV ARI