Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also submitted a privilege notice against Shah.
Published Dec 19, 2024 | 12:16 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 19, 2024 | 10:41 PM
INDIA bloc MPs protesting against Amit Shah's remarks.
The INDIA bloc parties and the NDA allies protested on the Parliament premises on Thursday, 19 December, against each other over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comments about Dr BR Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
While the Congress demanded the resignation of Shah, alleging insult to Ambedkar, the BJP claimed that the grand old party and its allies were misleading the public. The Congress has also planned a nationwide protest on Thursday.
INDIA bloc MPs climbed the walls of Makar Dwar at the Parliament. They protested with placards demanding an apology and the resignation of Shah.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also submitted a privilege notice against Shah.
Meanwhile, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to “reflect” on the comments of the Union home minister.
Kejriwal said those who love and follow Ambedkar cannot support BJP.
At the same time, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal slammed the BJP over a social media post.
“The BJP is brazen in its insult and ridicule of Dr. Ambedkar. Instead of submitting ensuring the Home Minister is removed from his post for the immense hurt caused to the crores of Babasaheb’s followers by Amit Shah’s statements, they are doubling down on the ridicule. Is standing up for Dr. Ambedkar against the insult to him a matter of joke for the BJP?” the Alappuzha MP questioned.
“They are bringing in their rotten falsehoods even on a sensitive matter like Dr. Ambedkar’s legacy, because they do not respect him and want to diminish his stature for their narrow political goals,” he added.
The BJP is brazen in its insult and ridicule of Dr. Ambedkar. Instead of submitting ensuring the Home Minister is removed from his post for the immense hurt caused to the crores of Babasaheb’s followers by Amit Shah’s statements, they are doubling down on the ridicule.
Is… pic.twitter.com/515qSiftYR
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) December 19, 2024
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the BJP MPs tried to stop him from entering the Parliament.
His comments followed the allegation of BJP MP Pratap Sarangi who claimed that he sustained an injury due to Rahul Gandhi pushing him away during the INDIA bloc’s protest inside Parliament premises.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said that Shah’s remarks were an insult to Dr Ambedkar’s legacy.
“This government has defaced the very Constitution that he crafted with his genius. The statues they build is only for vote bank politics!” he said on X.
Dr B R Ambedkar
Amit Shah’s controversial statement
My take :
An insult to Dr Ambedkar’s legacy
This government has defaced the very Constitution that he crafted with his genius
Th statues they build is only for vote bank politics !
— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) December 19, 2024
Congress Social Media & Digital Platforms Chairperson Supriya Shrinate said that several party members received mail from X regarding the video of Amit Shah’s statement in the Parliament.
“Last evening, a bunch of us from Congress, our party’s official handle, including myself, received a mail from X, formerly Twitter. This mail clearly indicates that the Ministry of Home Affairs and the IT Dept have written to them to take down the video of Home Minister Amit Shah that we posted. It allegedly says that we violated certain laws. I fail to understand which laws were violated. X goes on to say that given the freedom of speech and expression, they will not take it down, but in the interest of transparency, they have informed us,” she told reporters in Delhi.
“I want to ask Amit Shah, If you have nothing to hide, why do you want this video to be taken down because this video is neither forged, nor clipped nor edited. The reality is there is a 34-page speech by Amit Shah posted on the Rajya Sabha website—the unedited speeches of members. On page 344, there is Amit Shah’s speech where he clearly says: Manyavar, ek fashion ho gaya hai… Ambedkar…Ambedkar…Ambedkar. Itna naam agar Bhagwan ka lete toh saat janmo ka swarg mil jaata…”
“And this is exactly the part we played on our handles. There has been no distortion or editing. The reality is you know that you have insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar, and you have nowhere to hide. You should ideally apologize to this country and resign. But you choose to intimidate us. Do you think we will get intimidated and take down the video? No, we will not!” she added.
Last evening, a bunch of us from Congress, our party’s official handle, including myself, received a mail from X, formerly Twitter. This mail clearly indicates that the Ministry of Home Affairs and the IT Dept have written to them to take down the video of Home Minister Amit Shah… pic.twitter.com/AG2qGbyLeQ
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 19, 2024
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
