Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed adjournments on Wednesday with the Congress and other opposition members protesting against remarks of Home Minister Amit Shah relating to BR Ambedkar during his attack on Congress in his speech in Rajya Sabha at the conclusion of debate on 150 years of Constitution.
The issue snowballed into major political controversy with the Congress seeking resignation of Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders attacking the opposition party.
Amit Shah held a press conference and accused Congress of being “anti-BR Ambedkar and anti-Constitution”.
Shah responded to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s call for his resignation, saying it won’t make a difference to the Congress party’s fate. Shah claimed that the Congress party will remain in the opposition for the next 15 years, regardless of his resignation.
Shah said the Congress chief should not have supported the “nefarious efforts” of his party.
He alleged that Kharge, who is from the Dalit community, had joined the effort under “pressure of Rahul Gandhi.”
“Kharge ji is asking for my resignation. If it would have made him happy, I would have resigned, but it will not end his problems because he will have to sit in the same place (in the opposition) for the next 15 years. My resignation will not change that,” Shah said.
“I want to tell Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge you come from that section of society for which Dr BR Ambedkar dedicated his entire life. Therefore, I also want to say this to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge that you should not have supported this nefarious effort. However, I am disappointed that you are participating in this because of pressure from Rahul Gandhi. I want to reiterate that Congress is anti-Ambedkar, anti-Constitution, anti-reservation, anti-Savarkar and anti-OBC, and they don’t have an answer for this,” he added.
Asserting that the Bharatiya Janata Party has always tried to follow the principles of BR Ambedkar, Shah said he belongs to a party which can never insult the chief architect of the Constitution.
“My statement was presented in a distorted manner. Earlier they made PM Narendra Modi’s edited statements public. When the elections were going on, my statement was edited using AI. And today they are presenting my statement in a distorted manner. I also want to request the media to put my full statement in front of the public. I belong to a party which can never insult Ambedkar ji even in a dream. First Jan Sangh and then Bharatiya Janata Party have always tried to follow the principles of Ambedkar ji. Whenever the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power, we have propagated the principles of Ambedkar ji. The Bharatiya Janata Party has worked to strengthen reservation. ” he added.
Asked if the BJP was contemplating legal action against opposition leaders over their remarks, the Union Home Minister said that the BJP will examine all legal options.
“Whatever legal action can be taken inside and outside Parliament, all possibilities will be considered,” he said.
PM Modi defended Amit Shah’s remarks on Babasaheb Ambedkar and said that the union minister exposed “Congress’ dark history of insulting Ambedkar after which they are clearly stung and stunned” by the facts he presented.
In a series of posts on X, PM Modi said that Congress sat in power for years but did nothing to empower the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities.”In Parliament, Amit Shah Ji exposed the Congress’ dark history of insulting Dr Ambedkar and ignoring the SC/ST Communities. They are clearly stung and stunned by the facts he presented, which is why they are now indulging in theatrics! Sadly, for them, people know the truth! Congress can try as they want but they can’t deny that the worst massacres against SC/ST Communities have happened under their regimes. For years, they sat in power but did nothing substantive to empower the SC and ST communities,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister listed the “Congress sins” towards Babasaheb Ambedkar.
“The list of the Congress’ sins towards Dr Ambedkar includes- Getting him defeated in elections not once but twice. Pandit Nehru campaigning against him and making his loss a prestige issue. Denying him a Bharat Ratna. Denying his portrait, a place of pride in Parliament’s Central Hall,” he said.
PM Modi also said that the people of the country have seen from time to time how one party has indulged in every “dirty trick” to obliterate legacy of Ambedkar.
“If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think their malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken! The people of India have seen time and again how one Party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr Ambedkar and humiliate the SC/ST communities,” the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi emphasized his government’s work to fulfil the legacy of BR Ambedkar.
“Our Government has worked to develop Panchteerth, the five iconic places associated with Dr Ambedkar. For decades, there was a pending issue on land for Chaitya Bhoomi. Not only did our Government resolve the issue, I have gone to pray there as well. We have also developed 26, Alipur Road in Delhi, where Dr Ambedkar spent his last years. The house where he lived in London has also been acquired by the Government,” he said.
“When it comes to Dr Ambedkar, our respect and reverence is absolute. It is due to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar that we are what we are,” PM Modi added.
He also asserted that his government has worked tirelessly to fulfil the vision of Babasaheb Ambedkar over the last decade.
“Take any sector – be it removing 25 crore people from poverty, strengthening the SC/ST Act, our Government’s flagship programmes like Swachh Bharat, PM Awas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ujjwala Yojana and more, each of them has touched the lives of the poor and marginalised,” he said.
Kharge, who also held a press conference, said if Amit Shah does not resign, Congress will hold protests all over the country.
“If a person becomes a minister by taking oath on the Constitution and then insults the Constitution, he has no right to remain in the cabinet. Amit Shah should be removed from the cabinet immediately. If there is no resignation then there will be protests all over the country. Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar belongs to everyone because he used to talk about every person of the society including Dalits, oppressed and deprived people. He had sympathy for everyone,” the Congress chief posted on X.
The Congress President condemned Shah’s remarks and alleged that BJP-led NDA government does not believe in the Consitution.
“If Narendra Modi has even a little respect for Babasaheb, then he should dismiss Amit Shah from his post before midnight. The people of BJP-RSS do not believe in the Constitution. These people believe in Manusmriti,” he alleged.
Kharge said PM Modi should have called Amit Shah over his remarks.
“I am surprised that when a person is saying such derogatory things about Babasaheb on TV, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not even call him out and stop him. On the contrary, he made 6 tweets to support the Home Minister. Whereas a person who spoke so insultingly about Ambedkarji should have been removed from the cabinet. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are both close friends, so both hide each other’s sins,” the Congress chief alleged.
He claimed that the BJP-RSS and their political ancestors never accepted or respected the Constitution.
“BJP-RSS and their political ancestors have never respected the Constitution. Their political ancestors never accepted the Constitution, and burnt its copies. These people did not even adopt the tricolour. They said that the Constitution does not have the words of Manusmriti, so they will not accept it. In protest against this, they also burnt the effigies of Nehru and Ambedkar,” Kharge said.
Opposition MPs including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi held a protest in the Parliament premises against Amit Shah’s remarks.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju hit out at the Opposition, alleging that Congress had indulged in “conspiracy against B R Ambedkar.”
Rijiju also highlighted in a press conference that he is the first Buddhist after Ambedkar who had held the position of Union Law Minister.
“Today, I am the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. Ministers Arjun Meghwal and L Murugan, all three of us, come from the same practice as Ambedkar. I am the first Budh (Buddhist) to become Law Minister after 71 years. PM Modi ensured that I sit in Ambedkar’s chair,” Rijiju said.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Wednesday accused Congress of sidelining Dr BR Ambedkar, saying they have brought his photograph and are taking his name in “compulsion.”
“Congress has always sidelined BR Ambedkar, they have brought his photo and are taking his name in compulsion. They defeated him twice in elections. His name will be written in golden letters,” Meghwal said.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya were first adjourned till 2 pm and then for the rest of the day.