Vijayawada, 26 November: Marking Constitution Day, senior YSRCP leaders took out a rally from the party central office in Tadepalli to the Ambedkar Smriti Vananm, Social Justice Memorial—in Vijayawada, strongly condemning the TDP-led coalition government for allowing the memorial to fall into neglect. Leaders said the government’s apathy is driven not by administrative failure but by political vengeance against former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who built the 125-ft Dr B.R. Ambedkar statue in the heart of Vijayawada. After reaching the memorial, the YSRCP leaders held a dharna with placards, raised slogans against the government’s discriminatory approach, and offered floral tributes to Ambedkar’s portrait.
Speaking at the site, YSRCP leaders said that while Ambedkar gave India equality, civil liberties, and constitutional rights, the TDP coalition is running the state with a “Red Book Constitution,” suppressing freedom of speech, misusing laws, and unleashing vendetta on Dalits and opposition voices. They reminded the public how the previous TDP regime tried to confine Ambedkar’s statue to thorny bushes, whereas Jagan as Chief Minister proudly installed a grand 125-foot statue at the city’s centre, turning Ambedkar’s vision into a living symbol of social justice. They accused the coalition government of deliberately abandoning the upkeep of Ambedkar Smriti Van for one and a half years, simply because it stands as a testament to Jagan’s commitment to Dalit empowerment.
YSRCP leaders charged that the government shows greater interest in LuLu Mall construction than in maintaining a national symbol of social justice like Ambedkar Smriti Van. They said the park workers have not been paid and the memorial grounds are now in disrepair—proof that the coalition has no respect for the Constitution it pretends to celebrate. They warned that Dalit pride cannot be erased and that the people will soon deliver a befitting lesson to the government for insulting Ambedkar repeatedly. They asserted that those who govern with prejudice and vengeance have no moral right to observe Constitution Day.
Former ministers Merugu Nagarjuna and Vellampalli Srinivas, former MLAs Malladi Vishnu, Mondaitekka Jaganmohan Rao, Nallagatla Swamidass, former MP Nandigam Suresh, party SC Cell state president TJ Sudhakar Babu, district president Devineni Avinash, Vijayawada Mayor Rayana Bhagyalakshmi, and several other senior leaders participated in the programme.
*YSRCP MPs meet VP, flags denial of speaking time in Rajya Sabha*
