Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday evening doubled down on his party’s attacks on Amit Shah – after his “… has become the fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…” remark in Parliament last night – calling them “condemnable” and slamming the ruling BJP for disrespecting for the Constitution.
Mr Kharge also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Amit Shah. “If 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. He insulted a Dalit hero. They do not believe in the Constitution.”
The Congress leader also called out the Prime Minister for his fierce, six-post on X defence of Amit Shah, his No 2, in which he lashed out at the “rotten (political) ecosystem” populated by his rivals.
“If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” the Prime Minister had said.
READ | PM Leads BJP Fightback As Opposition Ups Ante In Ambedkar Row
“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…” he said on X.
“PM Modi made six tweets to defend Amit Shah. What was the need? If someone says (something) wrong about BR Ambedkar, he should be removed from the cabinet,” the Congress chief responded this evening, “But they are friends and are supporting each other’s sins…”
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…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 18, 2024
Mr Shah’s remarks about Dr Ambedkar – regarded as the architect of the Constitution – were delivered at the tail end of a four-day debate on the text, two each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha..
The debates were seen as a way to restore normality in a Parliament session roiled by a multiplicity of protests between the government and the opposition, with the attendant frequent disruptions.
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.
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.
With input from agencies
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