Babasaheb Ambedkar is AAP's guiding light; following his path: Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi [India], April 14 : Calling Babasaheb Ambedkar the ideological cornerstone of the party, Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said AAP is working to deliver dignity, education and opportunity to every citizen by walking the path shown by Babasaheb.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) marked Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar's 134th birth anniversary with great fervour at its headquarters on Monday. The chief guest of the ceremony and National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, along with senior party leaders, paid floral tributes to the architect of the Constitution.
Marking Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar's Jayanti, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal offered tributes to the architect of the constitution and stated, "On the occasion of Babasaheb Ambedkar's Jayanti today, we have all gathered here to pay tribute to him. On behalf of myself, my party, and all our volunteers, I offer my heartfelt tribute to Babasaheb Ambedkar."
Arvind Kejriwal reiterated that Babasaheb and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh remain central figures of inspiration for the AAP.
"Our party considers Babasaheb and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh as our ideals. We have resolved to draw inspiration from their struggles and follow the path and message they laid down for the nation. We are doing our best to steer our party and our governments in that same direction," he added.
Criticising tokenism in politics, Arvind Kejriwal drew an analogy to highlight the hypocrisy of political leaders who pay homage to Babasaheb Ambedkar but ignore his values. "Today, in politics, we see how some parties and leaders garland Babasaheb, offer flowers at his statues, and claim to pay tribute--but it's all a facade. And why do I call it a lie?"
"Imagine if you tell your son to follow a certain path, but he refuses. He does the opposite of what you teach, contradicts your every word--and then every morning, he places flowers before your photo and performs rituals. Wouldn't you feel like giving him two slaps and asking, 'You don't follow anything I say, but you worship my image every day--what's the point of that?' That's exactly what these parties and leaders are doing with Babasaheb Ambedkar," he said.
He condemned the disconnect between the reverence shown to Babasaheb Ambedkar and the disregard for his ideas in practice, saying, "They've done this to Babasaheb. They won't follow the message he gave or live by his values. Instead, they do the opposite--and then put on a show of offering flowers and lighting lamps in his name."
Reflecting on Babasaheb's core message, the AAP Chief underlined the centrality of education. He emphasised, "What was Babasaheb's biggest message? Babasaheb Ambedkar gave the highest importance to education. He believed that if we want our community to progress within a generation, if we want equality and to eradicate poverty, there is only one way to achieve it--and that is through education. Without education, we can not transcend. If we don't ensure good and equal education for all children in the country, then our country simply cannot progress."
Arvind Kejriwal called out other political parties for actively undermining education, asking, "But what do these political parties and leaders do? The exact opposite. They don't invest in education. And now, what's happening in Delhi is even more painful."
He shared his reflections from before his political journey began, when he worked in social service and saw the state of education up close. "Before we entered politics, we used to work in NGOs, in community service, especially in jhuggis. We had seen firsthand how terrible the condition of government schools was. The quality of education available to poor children was appalling. We also saw how private schools exploited parents and children--raising fees repeatedly, endlessly, without restraint," he asserted.
The AAP Supremo emphasised how the AAP government in Delhi took decisive steps to improve education. "When our government was formed in Delhi, we ensured proper arrangements for education. We transformed government schools and made them excellent. We didn't allow private schools to increase fees for 10 years. We held them in check."
He expressed concern over recent developments, stating, "But now, it hasn't even been two months, and already BJP has begun dismantling the entire education system in Delhi. It's like there's a frenzy--a loot. Not all private schools are bad, but some are pouncing like hungry wolves on parents."
Commenting on the growing public anger over private school practices, the AAP National Convenor said, "Parents are posting on social media about how their children are being locked inside libraries, not allowed to attend classes, and subjected to authoritarian treatment."
He added, "They're being threatened--'if you don't pay the fees, this or that will happen.' Fee structures are skyrocketing--some schools have doubled their fees, and others have raised them by 80%. How are parents supposed to arrange such money just like that for their children's education?"
He further added, "Even before coming here, I saw a post where someone said their annual expense on fees has shot up to Rs2 lakh. Where will people get this kind of money? How can they afford to educate their children under such conditions? It is the responsibility of any accountable government to protect its citizens from such exploitation. But here, those in power are actually enabling it. They are hand-in-glove with these exploitative forces."
On the undoing of reforms in Delhi's education system, Arvind Kejriwal asserted, "We fixed government schools with great difficulty over ten years. But they shut down the Happiness Curriculum, discontinued the Deshbhakti curriculum, scrapped Business Blasters, and dismantled Mission Buniyaad. ' All the good work we had done in Delhi's government schools--the BJP government is shutting them down one by one."
Referring to Gujarat's education crisis, he stated, "Yesterday, a report came from Gujarat -157 government schools, and not a single child passed the 10th class board exam. Not even one. Their party has been in power in Gujarat for 30 years. They should be ashamed. After running a government for three decades, this is the state of education in Gujarat. They'll do the same to Delhi's schools."
"They call themselves followers of Babasaheb Ambedkar," Arvind Kejriwal said. "But what kind of followers go against everything he stood for? Babasaheb Ambedkar said--work on education. And these people are hell-bent on destroying it. Show me one state--just one--where their government has improved the education system. Have they even fixed a single school?" he added.
Reflecting on the larger agenda behind neglecting education, he said, "Earlier, I used to wonder--why hasn't our education system improved in 75 years of independence? Why is there still so much poverty and illiteracy? I think if we fix the education system, we can outgrow poverty in just one month. I used to wonder why it was not being fixed. I thought maybe they didn't know how to do it."
"But now, seeing how deliberately they are ruining Delhi's education system, I am fully convinced--it was intentional. Both these parties have conspired to keep this country poor and uneducated. They did it knowingly, as a political strategy, to preserve their vote banks," the AAP Supremo stated.
Arvind Kejriwal further stated, "They have no love for Babasaheb Ambedkar. They have no respect for him. It's all a compulsion--a show--to act like they honour Babasaheb Ambedkar because they need votes from the SC community. That's the only reason for the pretense."
Recalling a historic debate in the Constituent Assembly, the AAP Supremo said, "When the Constitution was being drafted, a serious debate took place. Some members argued that the right to vote should not be given to everyone. They said illiterate and poor people should not have voting rights. There was a proposal that only educated or income tax-paying people should be allowed to vote."
He continued, "Imagine if only the rich and educated had been allowed to vote--what would have happened to the poor in our country? What would have happened to Dalits, to backward communities? They wouldn't have been allowed to live, breathe, or drink water. Babasaheb Ambedkar fought for all of us in the Constituent Assembly. He said every citizen must have the right to one vote."
"Every individual must have the right to vote. Whether a person is educated or uneducated, poor or rich, whether they have money or not, whether they belong to this caste or that caste -- every individual has the right to vote. If this fundamental right to vote, which Babasaheb gave us, didn't exist, imagine what the condition of this country would have been. It would have been terrible," said AAP National Convenor.
He highlighted the exploitation of the poor even when the right to vote exists, stating, "Today, even with the right to vote, these people go to the jhuggis before elections and say, 'Jahan jhuggi, Wahab makaan' (Where there's a jhuggi, there will be a home). But the day after the election results are declared, they start demolishing the jhuggis. That's how shameless these people are."
Warning of what would happen without voting rights, the AAP Supremo added, "If we didn't have the right to vote, they would've drowned all the poor, all the uneducated people in the Pacific Ocean. There would have been no schools for the downtrodden -- only the rich would've had access to schools. There would've been no government schools in this country, only schools for the rich. Babasaheb Ambedkar gave us the right to vote."
Arvind Kejriwal said that the Punjab Government made a very significant decision two to three years ago.
"Across the entire country -- from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to Assam -- Punjab is the only state where reservation has been provided even in the panel of government lawyers. No other state, not even the central government, makes reservations about the selection of their government lawyers. Only the Punjab government has done this," said Arvind Kejriwal.
On easing conditions for SC advocates, he added, "Reservation has been given in the government lawyers' panel. And just last week, special relaxations were introduced for our brothers from the SC community. The eligibility conditions for this reservation have been relaxed. I want to tell these people: If you truly love your states and communities, then do the same. Give reservations to the central government. Give reservation in the panel of government lawyers in your states too. Only then will we know whether you actually respect Babasaheb Ambedkar. Otherwise, stop this hypocrisy."
Highlighting caste discrimination in the judiciary, the AAP Chief stated, "I recently heard the speech of a judge -- a retired Chief Justice of a state -- given just a few days ago. He said that when he was serving in a High Court, a judge who was newly appointed came in and cleaned his entire room, his chair, and his desk with Gangajal. Why? Because the previous judge who occupied that seat was a Dalit, someone from the SC community."
"75 years have passed since Independence, but our mindset hasn't changed. We need to change. Every individual in this country must change their thinking. Just as political parties and leaders need to change, every citizen of this country must also change their mindset," said Arvind Kejriwal.
"Once again, I extend my heartfelt wishes to all of you on the occasion of Babasaheb Ambedkar's Jayanti. I urge everyone to walk in his footsteps -- don't be like these parties and leaders who merely pretend to honour him," concluded Arvind Kejriwal.
BJP betrayed Babasaheb's legacy; removed his photos from government offices and broke every promise made in his name: Saurabh Bharadwaj
Meanwhile, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj emphasized that the AAP, from the beginning, has followed Babasaheb Ambedkar's principles in letter and spirit. "Nearly a hundred years ago, Babasaheb gave the slogan--'Educate, Organise, Agitate'. Under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP government adopted this vision from day one. We prioritised education for all, focused on unity over division, and fought consistently for the rights of the people. Our struggle didn't begin when we lost power; it has continued throughout, in government and in opposition. We are a party that walks in Babasaheb's footsteps," he said.
The AAP Delhi State President pointed out that Arvind Kejriwal had, after assuming office, directed that Babasaheb Ambedkar's portrait be installed in every government office--whether it was the Chief Minister's, a Minister's, or a DM-SDM's. "Every press conference had Babasaheb's portrait in the background--a clear message that this government was committed to his ideals," he stated.
"The moment BJP came to power, they removed Babasaheb's pictures from the walls. We didn't expect this from the BJP. Today, in press conferences held by the BJP's Chief Minister, the chairs, tables, and walls remain the same--but the portrait of Babasaheb is conspicuously missing. It is both deeply saddening and shameful that the BJP has no space for Babasaheb--not in their hearts and not on their walls," he said.
Saurabh Bharadwaj exposed the BJP's unkept promises. "The BJP promised to give Rs1,000 per month to Scheduled Caste students--this was in their manifesto--but even that has not been fulfilled. They promised to double pre-matric and post-matric scholarships and to provide Rs50,000 to Dalit students taking admission in engineering, medical, and MBA courses. None of these promises have been fulfilled. This is not just disappointing--it is disgraceful."
The AAP Delhi State President concluded by stating that AAP will not stay silent in the face of this injustice. "We will continue to struggle--for Babasaheb Ambedkar's ideals and for the rights of those who have been cheated by the BJP's false promises."