Hyderabad: Congress MLAs in Telangana on Thursday, December 19, protested at the state Assembly over Union home minister Amit Shah’s remark against BR Ambedkar.
The protest was held near the BR Ambedkar statue in the Telangana Assembly.
Members of the Telangana Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also held a protest against the Union minister criticising his remarks against Ambedkar. The BSP took its protest to the iconic BR Ambedkar statue near Tank Bund.
The Ambedkar statue at Tank Bund has long been a symbolic gathering point for marginalized communities, especially those advocating for Dalit rights.
Amit Shah’s remark on BR Ambedkar
During a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha, Amit Shah said, “Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai – Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (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 for seven lives.),” Shah said, taking a swipe at the opposition.
Congress demands Amit Shah’s apology for ‘Ambedkar remark’
Shah said that the BJP is happy that the Congress is taking Ambedkar’s name but the party should also speak about its real sentiments towards him. He pointed out how Ambedkar had to resign from the first Cabinet citing his disagreement with the then Congress-led government’s policies including Article 370.
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.”
(With inputs from PTI)
