E-Paper
Amit Shah would have been a scrap dealer if not for Ambedkar's Constitution: Siddaramaiah
Siddaramaiah said the BJP leader revealed the mindset of the Sangh Parivar about BR Ambedkar.
Reacting to home minister Amit Shah's remark on Dalit icon BR Ambedkar, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramiah said on Thursday that the BJP leader would have been a "Gujari" (scrap dealer) had the late legal luminary not framed India's Constitution.
Reading out a detailed statement in the Karnataka assembly amid din by both BJP and the Congress MLAs over the issue, Siddaramaiah said the entire country heard the "derogatory" words uttered by Shah. He said the BJP leader revealed the mindset of the Sangh Parivar about the Dalit leader.
"First of all, I congratulate you (Amit Shah) for openly and courageously revealing the innermost opinion of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about Babasaheb Ambedkar before the country and for finally telling the truth in your lifetime," he said.
He said that without the Constitution, Amit Shah would have been a scrap dealer in his village and not the home minister of the country, reported PTI.
Also read: 'Nehru's hatred for Ambedkar well known': Amit Shah claims Congress distorted remark
"Until this written Constitution came into force, the Indian society had the Manusmriti, which made caste and gender discrimination a law. Babasaheb Ambedkar, who hoped for freedom, equality and fraternity, not only gave the Constitution, but he also burned the unwritten Constitution Manusmriti that was in force until then," the CM said.
The CM said if Ambedkar was not there, he and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge would not have occupied high positions. Instead, he would have had to stay in his village grazing cattle and sheep, he added.
During a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Amit Shah triggered a massive row by saying the Congress would have secured a place in heaven had it chanted the name of God instead of Ambedkar.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi links Parliament scuffle to Adani indictment: ‘New distraction’
The home minister on Wednesday accused the Congress of distorting his remarks on BR Ambedkar and running a malicious campaign.
Siddaramaiah attacked Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar, saying he would have suspended Amit Shah had he been adhering to the Constitution.
He said Ambedkar was not an annoyance, but an eternal memory.
"As long as we breathe, as long as the Sun and Moon exist on this Earth, the memory of Ambedkar will be there. The more you insult him, the more he will bounce back and rise, and he will light up our path of progress," he said.
With inputs from PTI
