NEW DELHI: As the political row over Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar escalated on Wednesday, the Opposition parties demanded the minister’s resignation.
Attending a press conference in the national capital, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge led the attack, demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must remove Shah from the cabinet before midnight. Kharge said if the Prime Minister has any respect for Babasaheb, he should sack Shah on Wednesday itself, if he does not quit on his own.
Attacking Congress during a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha, Shah said, “It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar! If they had taken God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven.”
Accusing Shah of disrespecting the architect of the Constitution, Kharge said the home minister should apologise to the nation for the insult he caused to Ambedkar during his speech in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. “Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar are condemnable. He has insulted the Dalit hero, whom they consider as revered. Shah must apologise to the people of the country,” Kharge said.
He also targeted the Prime Minister, saying that instead of telling Shah that his remarks were wrong, Modi is defending him. “An MP or a minister takes the pledge of the Constitution. If he disrespects it, he should be removed from the Cabinet immediately,” Kharge said, adding that people will otherwise register their grievances, raise slogans for Babasaheb.
Earlier, proceedings of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were adjourned amid protests by Opposition members demanding an apology from Shah for his remarks.
Responding to the Opposition’s allegations, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the Congress had done injustice to Ambedkar when he was alive. “The Congress defeated Ambedkar twice in Lok Sabha elections. They insulted him, we respect him,” he said.
Earlier in the day, several leaders of the INDIA bloc, led by Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, held a protest outside Parliament seeking Shah’s apology. Carrying photographs of Ambedkar, the MPs chanted slogans such as “Jai Bhim”, and “Amit Shah should apologise”.
While Trinamool Congress leaders were absent, members of the Congress, DMK, RJD, AAP and the Left parties took part in the protest.
Speaking to media, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the BJP always wanted to change the Constitution. “During the Lok Sabha election campaigns, one of their leaders said that if they get 400-plus seats, they will change the Constitution,” Gandhi said.