The Congress alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks in the Rajya Sabha during a debate on the Constitution show that the BJP and the RSS leaders have a “lot of hatred” for B R Ambedkar and demanded an apology from him.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said those who believe in Manusmriti will definitely be at odds with Ambedkar. Moreover, both houses of the Parliament were adjourned till 2 pm on Wednesday, amid protests over the alleged insult of Dr B R Ambedkar and other issues.
Stepping up attack on the ruling BJP, in a move reflecting the Congress Party’s outrage, MP Manickam Tagore has submitted an adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha, seeking an urgent debate on Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s controversial remarks about Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Tagore described Shah’s comments as “deeply disrespectful” and a blatant attack on the legacy of the chief architect of India’s Constitution. The controversy erupted following Shah’s speech during the Constitution debate in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, where he accused the Congress of invoking Ambedkar’s name as a political “fashion,” likening it to the casual invocation of God’s name.
Shah further claimed that those who frequently mention Ambedkar’s name, as the Congress does, would achieve “swarg” (heaven).
In his letter to the Speaker, Tagore condemned Shah’s remarks, stating, “The Home Minister cynically dismissed the importance of Dr. Ambedkar, trivializing his monumental contributions to the Constitution. Such blasphemous statements seek to undermine the values of equality, justice, and dignity that Ambedkar enshrined in our democracy.”
Tagore demanded an unqualified apology from Shah, emphasizing that Ambedkar’s legacy should unite the nation rather than become a subject of political ridicule.
“Mr. Shah, as a self-proclaimed Savarkar bhakt, do you stand for his divisive ideology or for Dr. Ambedkar’s vision of equality and justice? Crores of Dalits, Adivasis,& Backwards revere Ambedkar for liberating us from the oppressive Varna system. Jai Bhim is not just a slogan,” he wrote on X.
Congress general secretary-in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a video snippet on X from Shah’s speech in the upper house. “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 said, taking a swipe at the opposition.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at Shah, saying the “insult” of Babasaheb by the home minister “has once again proven that the BJP-RSS were against the tricolour, their forefathers opposed the Ashok Chakra and the people of the Sangh Parivar wanted to implement Manusmriti instead of the Constitution of India from the very first day”.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, “Amit Shah has said something very disgusting. This shows that the BJP and RSS leaders have a lot of hatred for Baba Saheb Ambedkar.”
