DH News Service

BANGALORE, April 29

Poet legislator Dr Siddalingaiah today called upon the Dalits to unitedly oppose the review of the Constitution taken up by the Central Government.He was presiding over the 110th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar organised by the SC, ST Welfare Organisation of the State Forest Department.He lambasted the move to review the statute and said this would twist the 'Rajyanga' (legislature) into 'panchanga' (Hindu almanac).

He said the Centre was silent on the basic objective of reviewing the Constitution and this showed that it had unethical intentions behind the move. Due to this confusion, justice M N Venkatachalaiah resigned the review committee chairman's post but he was forcibly continued, he added.He said the NDA Government was trying to alter the statute to suit its needs and warned the Dalits that they would have to face dire consequences if they did not protest the changes.In a caustic remark, he said courses such as 'tithi' and 'archane' would commence in universities apart from the proposed course in astrology if the 'Rajyanga' was changed to 'panchanga.'He made a direct allegation that the main objective of the review was to bring back the caste-based class structures giving the go-by to the principles espoused by Ambedkar.He said a government announcement said that Ambedkar wrote the Constitution along with seven others and termed it wrong. He said Ambedkar wrote the statute alone, taking suggestions from the seven.Minister K H Ranganath said it was regrettable that the civilised society was still giving Ambedkar a caste tag. He called for competitive spirit among the Dalits in education and stand up to the challenges thrown up by globalisation.