Nagpur: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday claimed that while drafting the Constitution, BR Ambedkar had expressed hope that Article 370 would eventually be abolished, describing its removal as beneficial for the country. Speaking at the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Vyakhyan Program in the city, he claimed Ambedkar was not in favour of retaining Article 370 permanently, Gadkari said, “While drafting the Constitution, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar had said that Article 370 was being incorporated, but they were not happy about it and hoped that a situation would arise in the future where it could be removed for the benefit of the nation.” He added that when the BJP-led govt revoked the provision, Opposition accused it of acting against Muslims. Elaborating on the BJP‘s ideological framework, Gadkari said Hindutva should not be viewed narrowly as religious practice. “A Hindu is not merely someone who visits temples or performs rituals. Hindutva is much broader. Bharatiyatva is Hindutva, and together they form Rashtriyatva,” he said.According to Gadkari, India’s identity is based on its shared history, culture and civilisation. “Our nationalism is cultural nationalism. It is not confined to any one religion,” he said, alleging that Congress deliberately spread the perception that the BJP represents only Hindus while being opposed to Muslims, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.To counter allegations of religious bias, Gadkari pointed to several development initiatives undertaken by BJP governments. He said that if the party were driven solely by religious considerations, it would have focused only on the construction of the Ram Mandir. Instead, he said, the government also invested nearly ₹22,000 crore in developing highway connectivity between major Buddhist pilgrimage sites and supported the development of Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur.
