Home Minister Amit Shah – at the centre of a ferocious Congress-led maelstrom following his “Ambedkar is the fashion” quip in Parliament last night – counterattacked Wednesday evening by accusing his rivals of being “anti-Ambedkar” and “anti-Constitution”, and “spreading lies”.

In his typically combative style, a normally unapologetic Amit Shah – Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s No 2 and one of the most powerful figures in the ruling BJP – made no reference to his specific comment about the Dalit icon, but declared his rivals had “distorted facts” after being stung by “examples of how the Constitution was attacked and wounded by the Congress (when it was in power)”.

“They (the Congress) have distorted the comment I made in the Rajya Sabha. They made edited versions of Modiji‘s speeches. I request the media to put my full statement in front of the people… I come from a party which follows the ideals of Ambedkar,” Mr Shah told reporters.

“The Congress disrespected the Army and women, and even broke up the country and gave it to foreign powers. When this truth was uncovered… they distorted facts and misled people yesterday.”

“During the discussion (a two-day debate on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution), it was proven it is the Congress that has disrespected Ambedkar…” Mr Shah, battling calls to resign, declared.

He also singled out Congress boss Mallikarjun Kharge, who has led the chorus of critical voices, and insisted he had no intention of stepping down. “Kharge is asking my resignation. If that will make him feel happy, then I’ll give it. But the Congress has to sit in the opposition for at least 15 more years.”

“My resignation will not change that,” Mr Shah said, also vowing legal action against the Congress for having allegedly edited versions of his speech to make their point.

Only a few hours earlier Mr Kharge held a press conference of his own, in which he ripped into Amit Shah and the Prime Minister. “If the PM has any respect for Babasaheb Ambedkar, he should drop Shah from the Cabinet. (But)… instead of telling Amit Shah (he) is wrong, PM is defending him…”

The “Ambedkar is fashion…” statement came in Mr Shah’s concluding remarks in the Rajya Sabha debate; the Home Minister said sarcastically, “It has become the fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…’ If they (the opposition) took God’s name so many times, they will get a place in heaven.”

READ | “No Less Than God”: Opposition Slams Shah’s Ambedkar Remark

The quip provoked furious protests from the Congress and other opposition parties, with Mr Kharge saying the “insult” had again proven that the BJP and its ideological parent – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – were against the country’s best interests. Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi also issued scathing counterattacks, and demanded Mr Shah apologise.

Sharing pictures from a protest outside Parliament – in which the opposition was united, despite recent differences over strategy and questions over the Congress’ leadership of the INDIA bloc – Mr Gandhi said, “Babasaheb is the Constitution’s architect… a great man who gave direction to the country.”

READ | “Country Will Not Tolerate Insult Of Dr Ambedkar”: Rahul Gandhi

“The country will not tolerate his insult… the Home Minister should apologise!”

It isn’t just the Congress that is up in arms. The Samajwadi Party – which contests elections on its ‘PDA’ strategy, in which the ‘D’ stands for Dalits – said it showed “the BJP is nervous about the struggle…”

“Babasaheb Ambedkar is God to a lot of deprived sections of the society. He is worshipped in each house and village. The BJP is nervous about the struggle of the PDA and that is the reason such statements come from them from time to time…” Akhilesh Yadav said.

#WATCH | Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh: On Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s speech in Rajya Sabha, Samajwadi Party President and MP Akhilesh Yadav says, “Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar is God to a lot of deprived sections of the society. He is worshipped in each house and village… The… pic.twitter.com/p6lPQRU767

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2024

Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool has also rallied against Amit Shah and the BJP; hours earlier the party filed a privilege notice against the Home Minister; Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, who moved the notice, accused Mr Shah of insulting the Dalit leader.

READ | “Mask Falls”: Trinamool Moves Against Shah In Ambedkar Row

Ms Banerjee posted a separate post in which she called the remarks “a display of BJP’s casteist and anti-Dalit mindset” and “an insult to millions who look up to Ambedkar”.

Amidst all this, Mr Modi and Mr Shah met Mr Gandhi and Mr Kharge this afternoon. Sources said the meeting had no connection to the “Ambedkar is fashion” row, stating the four senior-most political leaders in the country were meeting to appoint the next National Human Rights Commission chief.