Ambedkar's contribution not restricted to just Constitution, but also power and water resources: Sharad Pawar

NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Pic/X@PawarSpeaks

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said B R Ambedkar's contribution to the country is not restricted just to the Constitution but also taking crucial and futuristic decisions over water resources and power, reported news agency PTI.

Speaking at an event to commemorate the 100 years of his book 'The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution', Sharad Pawar said Ambedkar deserves credit for preserving parliamentary democracy in the country, reported PTI.

Ambedkar was a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council from 1942 to 1946, which was responsible for labour, water and power.

The NCP chief said, "The current generation is only aware of his contribution (as the chairman of the drafting committee) towards the Constitution."

The four-time Maharashtra chief minister said Ambedkar also took crucial decisions on how to use water and build its infrastructure, reported PTI.

He said the key decision to construct the Bhakra Nangal dam, built over the Sutlej river, and the Damodar Valley Corporation, a public sector power generator operating in West Bengal and Jharkhand, was taken during Ambedkar's tenure, reported PTI.

The Bhakra Nangal dam played a crucial role in the irrigation sector for Punjab and Haryana, spurring agricultural growth in the two states, said the former Union agriculture minister, reported PTI.

"While taking these decisions (on building dams), he also realised how important it was to generate power from these dams," Pawar said.

The NCP leader also credited Ambedkar for laying the foundation of the state electricity boards to enable power generation at the state level and founding the Transmission Corporation of India to take electricity to states that did not produce power, reported PTI.

"People are still reaping the benefits of the decisions that Ambedkar took," Pawar added.

Meanwhile, NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday said the BJP leaders who criticized his comments on the Israel-Palestine issue were being "more loyal than the king", and welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement about India continuing its humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine, reported news agency PTI.

His (Pawar's) views were in line with the stand of past prime ministers including Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee who supported a peaceful resolution of the long-standing dispute where Israel and Palestine can live in peace as neighbours, Sharad Pawar said in X.

"I appreciate Modi for endorsing the stand taken by previous prime ministers on the Israel-Palestine issue," the former defence minister added.

Over the last few days, BJP leaders Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Devendra Fadnavis and Himanta Biswa Sarma offered "unsolicited advice and comments" without understanding his comments, Sharad Pawar said.

"With Modi's statement, I hope the BJP leaders who misconstrued my statement will understand the nation's stand on such a sensitive issue," he said, adding that the English phrase "more loyal than the king" probably describes their attitude.

(With inputs from PTI)