India News | Opposition Seizes on Amit Shah's Remarks on Ambedkar, Seeks His Resignation
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Opposition on Wednesday seized on Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B R Ambedkar to corner the government, and demanded his resignation for what they called was an insult to the architect of the Constitution.
New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) The Opposition on Wednesday seized on Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B R Ambedkar to corner the government, and demanded his resignation for what they called was an insult to the architect of the Constitution.
The attack from virtually all opposition parties, including Congress, TMC, DMK, RJD, Left parties and Shiv Sena-UBT, led to adjournment of both Houses of Parliament and prompted the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to come out in stout defence of Shah.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien submitted a notice to move a privilege motion against Shah in the Rajya Sabha where the Home Minister had said on Tuesday evening that Congress leaders would have got a place in heaven had they chanted the name of God rather than following the fashion of repeating Ambedkar's name.
The hullabaloo in Parliament also spilled on to the streets of the national capital and places as far as Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. In Delhi, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal led hundreds of supporters to gather outside BJP office and protest noisily amid slogans "Amit Shah maafi mango, Amit Shah sharm karo".
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, DMK chief M K Stalin, Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav were among those who slammed Shah for his remarks.
"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)," Shah had said.
Shah also 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.
Kharge said if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had any respect for Ambedkar, he should sack the home minister today itself in case he does not quit on his own.
"Amit Shah's remarks on Dr Ambedkar show the party's (BJP's) arrogance and have exposed its true face," Thackeray, the former Maharashtra chief minister, said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee alleged that Shah's remarks displayed BJP's "casteist and anti-Dalit mindset".
"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," she alleged in a post on X.
Stalin, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, 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."
"BJP leaders should hear this loud and clear, Babasaheb Ambedkar is our fashion, passion, inspiration and motivation as well," RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)