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Opposition leaders mount attack over Shah’s remarks in Parliament
Members of the INDIA bloc set aside differences to come together and attack the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over Union home minister Amit Shah’s comment referring to Dr BR Ambedkar
Members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Wednesday set aside differences to come together and attack the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over Union home minister Amit Shah’s comment referring to Dr BR Ambedkar, jamming Parliament and holding protests.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack Union home minister Amit Shah if he had “any respect left” for Ambedkar, even as opposition members disrupted proceedings in both Houses of Parliament and shared clips of the first part of Shah’s statement.
Replying to the two-day discussion on 75 years of Constitution in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Shah attacked the Congress and alleged the opposition party repeatedly disrespected Ambedkar. “It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…If they had taken God’s name so many times, they would have secured a place in heaven for seven lifetimes…” he said, before going on to add that India’s first law minister was forced to resign from Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet.
As opposition members seized on a portion of Shah’s remarks, Modi attacked the Congress, saying the opposition party had indulged “in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr Ambedkar and humiliate the SC/ST communities.” Shah also said that his statement was distorted to create an “illusion” that he insulted Ambedkar.
But the Opposition continued to protest. Kharge accused Shah of disrespecting the architect of the Constitution and said the home minister should apologise to the nation.
“Instead of condemning Shah’s remarks, the PM has chosen to shield him, exposing his government’s hypocrisy regarding the Constitution and Dr Ambedkar’s legacy,” Kharge said, adding Shah has no right to remain in the Cabinet as he became a minister by taking oath of the Constitution.
“If Modi has any genuine respect for Dr Ambedkar, he must dismiss Shah by midnight today. Otherwise, all his talk about honouring the Constitution will appear as nothing more than hollow rhetoric,” the Congress chief said, warning of street protests.
Kharge further said that the “Constitution does not talk about ‘swarg’ (heaven) or ‘nark’ (hell) — concepts rooted in Manusmriti, a book that holds ideological significance for the BJP and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh).”
“What Amit Shah ji said in Parliament was extremely condemnable and unfortunate. He has insulted a Dalit hero who is revered by all. He taunted opposition parties on Ambedkar,” the Rajya Sabha LoP added.
Several lawmakers of the INDIA bloc, including Kharge and leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest on Parliament premises, demanding Shah’s apology.
“Babasaheb 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 apologize!” Gandhi wrote in Hindi on his Facebook page, sharing pictures from the protest.
Congress MP B Manickam Tagore submitted an adjournment motion, describing Shah’s comments as an attempt to undermine Ambedkar. In the Rajya Sabha, TMC MP Derek O’Brien submitted a notice to move a privilege motion against Shah.
“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 realised. They’d have rewritten history to entirely erase Dr Ambedkar’s contributions,” West Bengal CM and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said on X.
In Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal led hundreds of party supporters to gather outside the BJP office for a protest. “See how Amit Shah is joking about Babasaheb Ambedkar. These BJP people are so arrogant that they do not respect anyone,” Kejriwal told reporters. He also said that his party will go door to door in Delhi to tell people about the “insult” on Ambedkar by the BJP leader.
Tamil Nadu CM and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK 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.”
The ruling BJP dismissed the opposition’s allegations, with Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju accusing the Congress of not honouring Ambedkar with the Bharat Ratna and tarnishing his reputation for political gains. “Home minister Amit Shah Ji was referring to how Congress kept misusing Dr BR Ambedkar’s name… insulted him and never followed his ideals,” Rijiju said in the Rajya Sabha. “They’ve played around with the country and tried to tarnish the reputation of BR Ambedkar.”
In the Lok Sabha, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal targeted the Congress, saying: “The party that defeated Babasaheb twice in elections and left no stone unturned in insulting him, is today pretending to bring his photo to Parliament due to political compulsion.”
