Congress demands Amit Shah's apology for insulting Ambedkar

Amit Shah said the BJP is happy that the Congress is taking Ambedkar’s name but the party should also speak about its real sentiments towards him

The Congress on Tuesday (December 17, 2024) alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks in the Rajya Sabha during a debate on the Constitution show that the BJP and the RSS leaders have a "lot of hatred" for B.R. Ambedkar and demanded an apology from him.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said those who believe in Manusmriti will definitely be at odds with Ambedkar.

Congress general secretary-in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a video snippet on X from Shah's speech in the upper house.

"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 got a place in heaven)," Mr. Shah said, taking a swipe at the opposition.

Mr. Shah said the BJP is happy that the Congress is taking Ambedkar’s name but the party should also speak about its real sentiments towards him. He pointed out how Ambedkar had to resign from the first Cabinet citing his disagreement with the then Congress-led government’s policies including Article 370.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at Mr. Shah, saying the “insult” of Babasaheb by the Home Minister “has once again proven that the BJP-RSS were against the tricolour, their forefathers opposed the Ashok Chakra and the people of the Sangh Parivar wanted to implement Manusmriti instead of the Constitution of India from the very first day”.

"Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar Ji did not allow this to happen, that is why there is so much hatred towards him,” Mr. Kharge said.

"The ministers of the Modi government should understand carefully that for crores of people like me, Babasaheb Ambedkar is no less than God... He is and will always be the messiah of Dalits, tribals, backward classes, minorities and the poor,” Mr. Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.

In a post on X, Mr. Ramesh said, "Amit Shah has said something very disgusting. This shows that the BJP and RSS leaders have a lot of hatred for Baba Saheb Ambedkar."

"The hatred is such that they are annoyed even by his name. These are the same people whose ancestors used to burn the effigies of Baba Saheb, who themselves used to talk about changing the Constitution given by Baba Saheb," the Congress leader said.

“As the people taught them a lesson, they are now annoyed with those who take Baba Saheb’s name,” he said.

"Shameful! Amit Shah should apologise to the country for this," Mr. Ramesh asserted.

Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K.C. Venugopal also hit out at Mr. Shah over his remarks.

"HM Amit Shah, in case you didn't know - Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar is equivalent to God and the Constitution he drafted is a Holy Book for crores of people across the world. How dare you speak about Dr. Ambedkar with such disdain?" he said.

"The BJP's disgust towards Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was always well known, and the Home Minister's pathetic statements in the Rajya Sabha today further confirm how much they hate and detest Dr. Ambedkar," Mr. Venugopal alleged in a post on X.

“The worshippers of Manusmriti will always have scorn towards Ambedkar, who rejected the horrible ideas espoused by the casteist RSS and their Manusmriti,” he said.

"Those who spoke of changing the Constitution if they won 400+ seats, are now openly mocking our country's reverence for Dr. Ambedkar," Mr. Venugopal said.

“Those who pretended to bow before him could not hide their true feelings for too long, and this dangerous statement from the BJP top brass shows they have lost the right to speak about Ambedkar ever again,” he said.

The Home Minister attacked the Congress in the Rajya Sabha, saying the party treated the Constitution as the "private fiefdom" of one family and "played fraud" with Parliament.

Concluding a two-day debate on the "Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India", Mr. Shah ripped into the Congress for its appeasement politics. He claimed that the party wanted to breach the 50 per cent quota limit to provide reservation to Muslims.

He also asked the Congress if it supported the Muslim personal law and alleged that the party never worked for the welfare of the backward classes. Shah asserted that the BJP has already brought in a common civil code (Uniform Civil Code) in Uttarakhand and will implement it in all states.

Published - December 18, 2024 07:50 am IST