On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress party over the BR Ambedkar controversy, stating that the party is "seriously mistaken" if it believes it can conceal its "misdeeds from many years." He also came to the defense of Home Minister Amit Shah, who was accused by Congress of insulting BR Ambedkar in his Rajya Sabha speech. The Prime Minister asserted that Shah had, in fact, revealed the party's "dark history of disrespecting" the architect of the Constitution.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Lok Sabha during the ongoing winter session of Parliament in New Delhi. (Sansad Tv)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a series of X posts, in which he wrote, “If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think their malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr. Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!"
“The people of India have seen time and again how one Party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar and humiliate the SC/ST communities," (sic), he added.
“The list of the Congress’ sins towards Dr. Ambedkar includes: Getting him defeated in elections not once but twice. Pandit Nehru campaigning against him and making his loss a prestige issue. Denying him a Bharat Ratna. Denying his portrait a place of pride in Parliament’s Central Hall," the Prime Minister tweeted.
“Congress can try as they want but they can’t deny that the worst massacres against SC/ST Communities have happened under their regimes. For years, they sat in power but did nothing substantive to empower the SC and ST communities," he added.
The Prime Minister shared a video of Amit Shah speaking in Parliament, stating, “In Parliament, HM Amit Shah Ji exposed the Congress’ dark history of insulting Dr. Ambedkar and ignoring the SC/ST Communities. They are clearly stung and stunned by the facts he presented, which is why they are now indulging in theatrics! Sadly, for them, people know the truth!"
“It is due to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar that we are what we are! Our Government has worked tirelessly to fulfil the vision of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar over the last decade. Take any sector – be it removing 25 crore people from poverty, strengthening the SC/ST Act, our Government’s flagship programmes like Swachh Bharat, PM Awas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ujjwala Yojana and more, each of them has touched the lives of the poor and marginalised," PM Modi wrote in another X post.
“Our Government has worked to develop Panchteerth, the five iconic places associated with Dr. Ambedkar. For decades, there was a pending issue on land for Chaitya Bhoomi. Not only did our Government resolve the issue, I have gone to pray there as well."
“We have also developed 26, Alipur Road in Delhi, where Dr. Ambedkar spent his last years. The house where he lived in London has also been acquired by the Government. When it comes to Dr. Ambedkar, our respect and reverence is absolute," the Prime Minister’s post read.
Amit Shah's Statement in the Rajya Sabha
In his address to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Shah criticized the Congress party, accusing it of treating the Constitution as the "private fiefdom" of a single family and of "deceiving" Parliament.
Wrapping up a two-day debate on the "Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India," Shah slammed Congress for its appeasement politics and claimed the party aimed to exceed the 50 percent reservation limit in order to offer quotas to Muslims.
He also questioned whether the Congress party supported Muslim personal law and accused it of failing to work for the welfare of backward classes.
Shah emphasized that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already implemented a Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand and plans to extend it across all states.
Congress Calls for Amit Shah's Resignation
As the controversy surrounding Amit Shah’s comments escalated, the Congress party called for the Home Minister’s resignation, accusing his remarks of insulting BR Ambedkar.
The party further demanded that Shah issue a public apology, both in Parliament and outside.
Commenting on Shah’s speech in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the Home Minister had criticized them for speaking about Ambedkar repeatedly, claiming that if they had invoked God as often, they could have attained heaven seven times.
“The ‘insult’ caused to Babasaheb Ambedkar by Amit Shah is wrong. I demand his resignation," he informed reporters on the Parliament premises.
“Shah has insulted Babasaheb and the Constitution written by him," Kharge, accompanied by other opposition leaders, made the charge.
“The ideology of Manusmriti and the RSS shows that they do not want to give respect to Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Constitution. That is why we, all parties, demand his resignation and he should apologise to the country," the Congress chief said.
“If he continues to talk like this, there will be fire across the country if anyone insults Babasaheb Ambedkar like this. We parties would not accept such an insult of Babasaheb Ambedkar," he said.
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