Opposition parties protest against Amit Shah’s comments on BR Ambedkar

The Congress demanded the home minister’s resignation and an apology, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the opposition of circulating clipped videos and engaging in political gimmicks

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2pm on Wednesday amid protests by opposition parties against Union home minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar during the Constitution debate in the Upper House.

Amit Shah had attacked the Congress during his speech. (PTI photo)

The Congress demanded the home minister’s resignation and an apology, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the opposition of circulating clipped videos and engaging in political gimmicks.

Opposition MPs including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, senior party leader Rahul Gandhi, and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi held photos of Ambedkar in the Parliament complex.

Concluding a two-day debate on the “Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India”, Shah on Tuesday took a dig at the Congress for repeatedly taking the name of Ambedkar, saying had they taken God’s name so many times they could have earned a place in heaven.

“It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. If they took God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven”, he said during his speech in Rajya Sabha.

Kharge, reacting to Shah’s remarks, said, “We all tried… when Amit Shah was speaking about Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. He said that if we would have taken God’s name this many times, then we would have gone to heaven seven times. I raised my hand at that time as well, but I wasn’t given a chance to speak then. We all decided to cooperate and were sitting silently because we were having a discussion on the Constitution.”

“We all protested today against this. I demand his resignation,” Kharge added.

Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the nation knows “what all the PM has done to pay tributes to Ambedkar. We have done many things to pay tributes to him.”

Trying to turn the tables on the opposition, he said why did Ambedkar have to quit the Nehru cabinet in 1951.

The minister went to alleged that the Congress inspired to defeat Ambedkar who wanted to return to Parliament. “They defeated him again. So he had to take deeksha in Nagpur and retired from politics,” he said speaking outside Parliament.

The BJP went on to allege that the Congress has never shown respect to Ambedkar and did not even confer the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award on him.

“It is only PM Modi and the BJP that is following the ideals of Ambedkar,” he said.