NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien on Wednesday submitted a privilege notice against Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on B R Ambedkar, a source said.
According to the source, the notice has been filed under Rule 187 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Rajya Sabha.
The notice also quoted the statement the home minister made in the Upper House on Tuesday during his reply to a debate on the 75 years of the Constitution.
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed protests from the Congress and some other opposition parties over Shah's alleged insult of Ambedkar, resulting in both the Houses being adjourned.
Criticising the Congress for repeatedly taking the name of B R Ambedkar, Shah had said in his remarks that if they taken God's name so many times they could have earned a place in heaven.
"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.
Shah 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.
The home minister also said most of the memorials of Ambedkar were built when the BJP came to power.
"How appropriate is it for you to use the name of a person for vote bank politics whom you used to oppose?" Shah asked Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Meanwhile, TMC chief West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks in the Rajya Sabha about BR Ambedkar were a display of the BJP's "casteist and anti-Dalit mindset".
Banerjee, termed the remarks derogatory, claiming that those were an insult to the millions of people who look up to Ambedkar for guidance and inspiration.
"The mask has fallen! As Parliament reflects on 75 glorious years of the Constitution, HM @AmitShah chose to TARNISH this occasion with DEROGATORY remarks against Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, that too in the temple of Democracy," she posted on X.
Attacking the BJP, Banerjee claimed that what more could have been expected from a party that has "internalised HATE and BIGOTRY".
"HM Amit Shah's remarks are an insult to the millions who look up to Babasaheb for guidance and inspiration. But what else can you expect from a party that has internalised HATE and BIGOTRY?" she said.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also issued sharp criticism of the BJP and RSS, accusing them of undermining Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s contributions to India’s Constitution.
In response to comments made by Shah in the Rajya Sabha, Kharge said, “The insult that Home Minister Amit Shah has done to Baba Saheb in the House today has once again proved that BJP/RSS were against the Tricolour, opposed the Ashoka Chakra, and wanted to implement Manusmriti instead of the Constitution. Babasaheb did not let that happen, that is why there is so much hatred towards him.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit back at the Congress, accusing the party and its "rotten ecosystem" of insulting Ambedkar for years. Addressing the controversy over Shah’s remarks, Modi defended the Home Minister, stating that Congress was engaging in "theatrics" after being "stung and stunned" by his address during the debate on the Constitution.
“Amit Shah exposed the Congress's dark history of insulting Dr. Ambedkar... They are clearly stung and stunned by the facts he presented, which is why they are now indulging in theatrics,” Modi said.
