BJP indulging in distraction, Amit Shah must resign for ‘insulting’ Ambedkar: Cong

PTI New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP of diverting attention from the issue of Home Minister Amit Shah’s “insult” to BR Ambedkar, and demanded that Shah must resign and apologise for his remarks. The opposition party also alleged that the BJP is “anti- Constitution” and “anti- Ambedkar”. Addressing a joint press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi condemned Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar and said they would continue to protest across the country and that a movement against this had already begun.

“The BJP wants to divert attention from Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar and that is why they are raising other issues,” Kharge told reporters. He said they (Congress leaders) were only demanding the resignation of Home Minister Shah and were protesting “in support of our demands, but the BJP MPs blocked us from entering Parliament”. “They pushed me, I lost my balance and sat down,” the Congress chief said, adding that he condemns Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar. Kharge said they will run a nationwide movement raising the issue of Ambedkar’s alleged insult by the home minister. Gandhi said the BJP-RSS thinking is “anti-Constitution” and “anti-Ambedkar”. “The BJP is indulging in distraction. We want the apology and resignation of home minister over his remarks on Ambedkar,” Gandhi said, adding that they would continue to raise their demand and the Adani issue.

Later, in a post on X, Gandhi said, “Amit Shah, Apologise and Resign.” At the press conference, he said a few days ago, the issue of a case being filed against (Gautam) Adani in America came up, on which the BJP did not allow any discussion in the House for the entire session. “Then came Amit Shah’s statement on Ambedkar ji. We have been saying from the beginning that the thinking of BJP-RSS is anti- Constitution and against Ambedkar ji.

Ambedkar no less than god of modern India: Kejriwal

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on Baba Saheb in Parliament, saying “Ambedkar is no less than the god of modern India”. “You have to choose between Baba Saheb and the BJP. Jo Baba Saheb se kare pyaar, vo BJP ko kare inkaar (those who love Baba Saheb should reject the BJP),” said Kejriwal during his visit to Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir at Mandir Marg here.

“These words in themselves were very painful and insulting to Ambedkar. But the tone in which he said it seemed that how much he hates Baba Saheb. At first, I thought it must have come out of his mouth, but next day even Prime Minister Narendra Modi also supported Shah,” he alleged. The AAP supremo claimed this shows that Shah had said it in Parliament deliberately in order to give a message what they feel about Ambedkar. “I don’t just consider myself a fan of Ambedkar – I am his Bhakt (devotee). I had read a lot about him before, but when I was imprisoned, I immersed myself in his biography multiple times. His life story is a profound source of inspiration,” said Kejriwal.

“The struggles he faced were unparalleled and only a few in history can compare. He was declared the greatest scholar of the century by Columbia University, which honoured him in a way that brought glory to India worldwide. Yet, such a towering figure has often been disrespected,” he added.