442 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
the high caste people you will be better off, then you are mistaken. The high caste people will always suppress the backward classes. High Caste people will enjoy the freedom whereas our people will remain as they are. Poor people can never flourish under the rich and must unite separately to achieve their purpose.
To safeguard the interests of the Depressed Classes, we have formed our own political party called the Scheduled Castes Federation. Through our efforts we have secured certain privileges which have been incorporated in the Constitution itself. Certain seats have been reserved for the Scheduled Castes in the State Assemblies and the Union Parliament. Only Scheduled Castes people can be elected to those seats. But if our true representatives are not elected to the Assemblies and the Congress nominees are elected to the reserved seats, then our rights cannot be safeguarded. Our people elected on the Congress tickets will be tools in the hands of the Congress and they will serve their ownselves. Just take the case of the two Scheduled Castes Deputy Ministers who are in the PEPSU Ministry. They were elected on the Congress tickets. What have they done for you ? Our childern are uneducated. We are as poor as before. We have not got any lands. We are not treated like human beings in the villages. Have they done anything in this regard? I have come to know that as soon as they came to know that I am visiting Patiala, they started anti-propaganda. They asked the Scheduled Castes people to boycott the Conference. Now you can judge what the people elected on the Congress tickets can do for us. Those who seek Congress tickets are selfish and selfish people can never think of other. You cannot expect anything from them.
To join Congress is easy. It was more easy for me to do so with my qualifications. Everybody will join Congress if it is beneficial to all. But if by joining Congress, we do not benefit, what is the use of our going over to Congress ? Well ! I was in Congress Government. I have never accepted any bribe, I have never tried to use unfair means to collect money. I challenge that there is not a single charge against me.