Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge paid homage to B R Ambedkar and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on Friday, visiting their memorial and 'mazaar'.
Following his visit to Ambedkar's memorial, Kharge tweeted a quote from the former law minister and key architect of the Constitution, "Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship."
“I have come to pay tribute to people who’ve fought for society, independence of the country, especially social equality so that the coming days look brighter and are in favour of national interest,” Kharge quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Kharge also paid floral tributes to India's first Education Minister at his'mazaar (grave).'
"Paid floral tributes to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad at his mazaar in Delhi. A revolutionary freedom fighter and India's First Education Minister, he believed in our country's democratic and secular credentials and strongly opposed the idea of partition on religious lines," Kharge said on Twitter.
The BJP and RSS, according to Kharge, are "attempting to replace the Baba Saheb's Constitution with the Sangh Constitution," but his Congress would not allow this to happen, news agency PTI reported.
Kharge paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat on Wednesday, before taking over as Congress chairman. He also paid honours to former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and former Deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram at their memorials.
On Wednesday, Kharge became the Congress' first non-Gandhi president in 24 years, using Rahul Gandhi's "daro mat" slogan to energise workers and pledging that the party will smash the government's "system of lies, treachery and hatred."
Kharge, 80, defeated Shashi Tharoor to become the Congress president to succeed Sonia Gandhi.
(With Inputs From Agencies)