Congress insulted, deprived Ambedkar of Bharat Ratna: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday slammed the Congress for "insulting" the architect of the Constitution, Dr B.R. Ambedkar and "depriving" him of Bharat Ratna, the country's highest honour till 1990.

"Ambedkar had drafted the Constitution....but the Congress kept him 'vanchit' (deprived) of the Bharat Ratna...Congress also insulted Veer Savarkar," Modi said while addressing an election rally here.

Ambedkar, who died in 1956, was conferred with the Bharat Ratna in 1990 by the then V.P. Singh's government.

Modi said it was the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has implemented Ambedkar's Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir after scrapping Articles 370 and 35A, "but they continue to oppose it".

"Our endeavour is 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' and in the past five years, we have taken great strides in this... I urge you all to vote for the BJP and bring us back with an even higher majority," Modi urged the gathering.

He called upon the people "to teach a lesson" to all those who oppose the abrogation of Article 370 and help the BJP to take the people of Maharashtra to greater heights through progress and development.