Mysore/Mysuru: Hitting out at his own party Government in the State for failing to take action against Raichur District Court Judge, who had allegedly ordered removal of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s portrait during the Republic Day celebrations at Raichur, Chamarajanagar BJP MP V. Sreenivasa Prasad said that it is unfortunate that the Government has remained silent on the issue.

He was speaking after releasing former University of Mysore Prasaranga Director and writer Prof. C. Naganna’s work titled ‘Abraham Lincoln Hagoo Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar- Mahaan Sadhakara Horatada Majalugalu’ at a programme jointly by Samaanate-Swabhimana-Swavalambane Pratishtana and Samaanate Prakashana at Vijnana Bhavan in Manasagangothri here on Saturday, marking the 214th birth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln.

Maintaining that the Raichur Judge’s action was an insult to the father of the Indian Constitution and also a serious offence, Sreenivasa Prasad contended that the Government turning a blind eye to the incident was not correct. Urging the Government to get a report on the entire incident, he observed that the Chief Minister and the Law Minister must have discussed the issue and brought it to the notice of the High Court. Maintaining that he had expressed doubts much earlier about the Government’s sincerity on taking action against the Judge in question, the MP said it was unfortunate that the Government did not act on his suggestions.

Wondering what would have been the mindset of the Judge when he allegedly ordered removal of Dr. Ambedkar’s portrait on the day when the entire country was celebrating Republic Day, Prasad bemoaned that this incident shows that the people’s preset mindset on Dr. Ambedkar has not improved over the years.

Asserting that great personalities like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King fought for equality in America, the MP said that the struggles of these great personalities have yielded results in America and both the White and Black population of that country are now living harmoniously. Contending that dark race is not symbolic of inferiority and instead it is symbolic of strength and unity, he opined that such a feeling should also spread across the SC Communities of India.

Noting that several movements and struggles had taken place in the country over centuries, Prasad said that casteism and nepotism had hindered the success of these struggles. As such, social evils such as untouchability, exploitation and atrocities have continued even after decades of independence, he lamented.

Quoting a Union Minister from Karnataka, who recently had said that the conviction in SC/ST atrocities cases was merely 3 percent, Prasad wondered whether the victims would get justice.

Former Karnataka Sanskrit University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Mallepuram G. Venkatesh spoke about the book.

Book author Prof. C. Naganna, former Professor Dr. Neelagiri Talwar, Pratishtana President Prof. C. Basavaraju, Secretary Mullur Nanjundaswamy, Book Publisher Bharath Ramaswamy, MLC A.H. Vishwanath, former MP C.H. Vijayshankar and others were present.