Shimla, April 22 (PTI) Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress and said it has always attempted to suppress the ideas of Dr B R Ambedkar.

Speaking at 'Dr B R Ambedkar Samman Sabha' organised by Shimla unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the minister said that after Ambedkar's death, the Congress leaders handed over the transportation bill, incurred while moving his mortal remains in a helicopter, to his wife. This reflected their narrow mindset, he said.

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Tamta said it was the BJP that paid due respect to Dr Ambedkar.

"In 1990, the BJP-supported government posthumously conferred Bharat Ratna on him. Due to the efforts of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, his portrait was installed in Parliament the same year," he said.

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BJP State President Rajeev Bindal who was also present on the occasion accused the Congress of misusing the Constitution for political gains.

"The imposition of Emergency was one of the darkest chapters in Indian democracy. During Emergency, the soul of the Constitution was crushed, thousands were jailed and the media was silenced," Bindal said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)