Senior Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Girish Mahajan has clarified that omission of Dr Ambedkar's name during his R-Day speech at Nashik was an unintentional mistake and felt that people should not make a big issue out of it.
The controversy erupted on Monday after Madhavi Jadhav, a forest guard, raised objections about ministerial speech as Mahajan did not mention the name of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, a dalit icon and architect of the Indian Constitution. She filed a complaint against the minister under Prevention of Atrocities Act and asked Mahajan to apologise.
"I grew up in RSS tradition and respect Dr Ambedkar's work and thoughts. I never intended to insult him. His name was left out by mistake but there is no need to create such an issue," said Mahajan.
Mahajan said that he not only respects the ideology of Dr Ambedkar but he also practices it. He pointed out that he organises Ambedkar birth anniversary celebrations by holding social events and that he erected a large statue of Dr Ambedkar in his hometown, Jamner.
He said his mistake was being blown out of proportion. Apologising for his mistake, Mahajan said, "I raised the slogans of Vande Mataram, Shivaji Maharaj Ki Jay and Bharat Mata Ki Jay. I had no intention to hurt anyone. If anyone is hurt, I apologise.”