127. 29-10-1951 Poor People mus t Uni t e Separately to Achieve their Purpose - Page 467

127
POOR PEOPLE MUST UNITE SEPARATELY TO ACHIEVE THEIR PURPOSE

Dr. Ambedkar’s Speech at Patiala, Punjab on 29th October

1951 during election campaign. He said.

Dear brothers !

As my friend Mr. Rajbhoj has told you I am not feeling well today. This is due to the fact that I had to travel a long journey by road. So I will not be able to speak for a long time but I will speak on some important topics.

Everybody in India is busy with elections. There are many politicians and parties who have nothing else but elections with them. I very much appreciate the anxiety of the people about the coming elections and agree that we should think many times before we decide to vote for a party or an individual. The people elected now will continue in office for five long years. So, we must be very careful about it. This is the time of life and death of political parties as well as individuals. Every citizen and politcal party has got to take proper part in elections but for this, their very existence is in danger.

You know that today the Congress is the party in power in India. It is forty years old and it has got large funds at its disposal. For the last four or five years. Congress Party is governing over India, Congressmen are now canvassing people to vote for the Congress. They argue that no other party is so powerful to run the Government and can achieve what Congress has achieved in the past and will be able to do in the future. They state only under Congress rule India can prosper and as such all people whatever their religion, caste, creed might be, should vote for the Congress candidates and make them successful in the coming election. This is what Congressmen are propagating.

It is right that Congress has got means of propaganda so much so that every candidate standing for Congress ticket will have more than 100 agents at the disposal for his propaganda. Congress has got its headquarters where so many people are working like government servants. They have got offices of each