Oppn seizes on Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar, seeks his resignation; PM, BJP rally in defence

NEW DELHI: With two days to go for the ongoing Winter session of Parliament to draw to a close, a massive political controversy broke out on Wednesday as the Congress, joined by other Opposition parties, sharply attacked Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks on B R Ambedkar and demanded his sacking.

As head of the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top BJP leaders rallied to the Home Minister’s defence and said he had exposed the Congress’ “anti-Ambedkar” stance.

As opposition parties unitedly protested against Shah and stalled both houses of Parliament, alleging that his remarks had insulted Ambedkar and demanding an apology, Shah lashed out at the Congress, saying the party had distorted his comments. He stated that the discussion on the Constitution in both Houses had “established” that the opposition party was anti-Ambedkar and anti-reservation.

Prime Minister Modi hit out at the Congress, saying its “rotten ecosystem” and “malicious lies” could not hide its misdeeds and that the home minister had exposed the opposition party’s “dark history of insulting” Ambedkar.

Parties like the Congress, Trinamool Congress, AAP, RJD, SP, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Left protested against Shah both inside and outside Parliament.

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien submitted a notice to move a privilege motion against Shah in the Rajya Sabha, where the Home Minister made the remarks.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge warned that there would be a countrywide agitation if Shah did not resign.

In an unusual move, Shah addressed a press conference and alleged that the Congress had previously misrepresented his and even PM Modi’s comments to spread confusion and mislead people.

Shah’s press conference at the BJP headquarters capped a day of frenetic political moves from both sides regarding his comments, as the ruling party’s top leaders, including PM Modi and his Cabinet colleagues, rallied to his defense after the Congress and other opposition parties launched a blistering attack on him.

“I condemn the Congress for twisting facts. Why did it happen? It happened because BJP leaders spoke on how the NDA governments upheld the Constitution and established with facts that the Congress is anti-Ambedkar, anti-Constitution, and anti-reservation,” Shah said.

“When all these facts came out, the Congress used its old tricks and made an effort to mislead society by presenting twisted facts,” Shah said, adding that he comes from a party that will never insult Ambedkar. Congress president Kharge also addressed a press conference and demanded that Shah resign or else PM Modi should sack him.

Asked about Kharge’s demand, Shah said in a lighter vein that he could quit if it would make the Congress president happy, but it would never solve his problems.Kharge said a person becomes a minister by taking an oath to the Constitution and if he insults it,he has no right to remain in the Cabinet.

“We want Amit Shah to quit his post, and if he doesn’t, I want to tell the prime minister that if he has even a little respect for Babasaheb, he should dismiss Amit Shah from his post before midnight,” he said.

“If there is no resignation, there will be protests all over the country. Babasaheb Ambedkar ji belongs to everyone because he used to talk about every person in society, including Dalits, the oppressed, and the deprived. He had sympathy for everyone,” he said. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said, “Baba Saheb is the architect of the Constitution, a great man who gave direction to the country. The country will not tolerate his insult or the insult to the Constitution framed by him. The Home Minister should apologise!”

He later claimed, “They are against the Constitution. They had said earlier that they will change the Constitution. They are against Ambedkar and his ideology. Their whole agenda is to finish off Ambedkar’s contribution and the Constitution. The whole country knows.”

Several MPs of the INDIA bloc also held a protest in Parliament premises demanding Shah’s apology for his remarks on Ambedkar. The uproar in Parliament echoed in parts of Delhi and other states like Maharashtra, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu, where various parties held protests.

In Delhi, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal led a protest with hundreds of supporters outside the BJP office, chanting slogans and demanding an apology from Amit Shah.

“Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai - Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. If they had taken God’s name so many times, they would have gotten a place in heaven),” Shah had said in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the Constitution.

Shah had also said the BJP is happy that the Congress is taking Ambedkar’s name but it should also speak about its real sentiments toward him, and went on to narrate incidents where the opposition party had denied the respect due to him. In Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray said, “Amit Shah’s remarks on Dr. Ambedkar show the party’s (BJP’s) arrogance and have exposed its true face.”

“Prime Minister Modi should act against Amit Shah for his remarks on Dr. Ambedkar and he should quit if he is not able to do so,” the former chief minister said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the Union Home Minister’s remarks about Ambedkar were a display of the BJP’s “casteist and anti-Dalit mindset.”

“The mask has fallen! As Parliament reflects on 75 glorious years of the Constitution, HM @AmitShah chose to TARNISH this occasion with DEROGATORY remarks against Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, that too in the temple of Democracy,” she posted on X.

“This is a display of BJP’s CASTEIST and ANTI-DALIT mindset. If this is how they behave after being reduced to 240 seats, imagine the damage they would’ve inflicted if their dream of 400 seats had been realized. They’d have rewritten history to entirely erase Dr. Ambedkar’s contributions,” she alleged.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said, “Only those who commit more sins should be concerned about ‘punya’ (good deeds). Those who are concerned about the country, its people, and the protection of the Constitution will only utter the name of Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar and they will have to utter only his name.” “BJP leaders should hear this loud and clear, Babasaheb Ambedkar is our fashion, passion, inspiration, and motivation as well,” RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said they respected B. R. Ambedkar for his contribution to the framing of the Constitution.

The Congress also held protests outside all Raj Bhavans in states and raised slogans demanding Amit Shah’s apology, saying that Shah’s remarks have hurt the sentiments of millions of Dalits and oppressed groups. As the Congress and other parties latched onto Shah’s comments last evening to attack the government, Modi said the home minister actually exposed the Congress party’s “dark history of insulting” Ambedkar. “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,” Modi said in a series of posts on X.

Shah’s Cabinet colleagues, including Rajnath Singh, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Kiren Rijiju, came to his defence and launched a fresh onslaught on the main opposition party for its alleged insults of the architect of the Constitution. Union ministers Rajnath Singh, J P Nadda, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Ravneet Bittu on Wednesday slammed the Congress, accusing it of resorting to cheap politics and spreading fake narratives over Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on B. R. Ambedkar.