Countering the Opposition’s charge accusing Home Minister Amit Shah of insulting Dalit icon BR Ambedkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the people have seen how the Congress has tried “every possible trick” to obliterate BR Ambedkar’s legacy and humiliate Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

In a six-point thread on X, the Prime Minister said the Congress and its “rotten ecosystem” were “gravely mistaken” if they thought “malicious lies” could hide their insult of the architect of the Constitution. “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,” the Prime Minister said.

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…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 18, 2024

The Prime Minister’s remarks come amid a massive protest by the Congress-led Opposition over the Home Minister’s remarks in Rajya Sabha yesterday.

Addressing the House during the debate to mark 75 years of the Constitution, Mr Shah said taking BR Ambedkar’s name had become a “fashion” now. “It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar’. If they took God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven,” he said.

“Take his name 100 times more, but I want to say what are your sentiments about him.” He said BR Ambedkar had to resign from the first Cabinet following his disagreement with the Jawaharlal Nehru-led government.

The remarks sparked a huge row, with leaders of the Congress and other Opposition parties accusing Mr Shah of insulting the Dalit icon. When the Parliament met today, MPs from Opposition parties, held photos of BR Ambedkar and staged a protest. While BJP leaders accused the Congress of circulating a short video clip that did not show Mr Shah’s remarks on how the Congress allegedly sidelined BR Ambedkar, Opposition leaders stepped up the attack on the ruling party and demanded the Home Minister’s resignation.

As the Opposition tried to shape the narrative and corner the government, the BJP leadership swung into action to counter the Opposition’s attack that could potentially have a massive perception impact among backward communities. Mr Shah met the Prime Minister at his residence amid the spiralling row. The Prime Minister added in his post that the list of the Congress’s “sins” towards BR 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.”

“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 said.

Sharing a video of Mr Shah’s remarks, the Prime Minister said the Home Minister had “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,” he said.

Stressing that his government has worked tirelessly to fulfill the vision of Dr Ambedkar, the Prime Minister said, “When it comes to Dr. Ambedkar, our respect and reverence is absolute.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused the Congress of insulting BR Ambedkar during and after his lifetime. “The BJP under Narendra Modi’s leadership and honoured every place linked to Baba Saheb. This is what Home Minister Amit Shah put forward yesterday with proof. The Congress has resorted to nasty politics to hide this truth,” he said.

As top BJP leaders countered the Opposition’s charge, an X account called Modi Archive, which shares trivia from the Prime Minister’s political journey, shared his old pictures offering tribute to Dr Ambedkar. 

When @narendramodi joined the BJP in 1986, one of his earliest initiatives was honoring the legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar – a mission he has continued ever since.

This was long before Dr. Ambedkar’s name had been co-opted by certain political entities for their narrow political… pic.twitter.com/6QMGfVuIh0

— Modi Archive (@modiarchive) December 18, 2024

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said in a veiled swipe at Mr Shah, “Those following Manusmriti would naturally be troubled by Ambedkar.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Mr Shah’s “insult” of BR Ambedkar has again proved that the BJP and its ideological parent RSS were “against the Tricolour” and “opposed the Ashok Chakra”. “They wanted to implement Manusmriti instead of the Constitution. Babasaheb Ambedkar did not let this happen, that’s why they hate him so much. The Modi government’s ministers must understand that for crores of people like me, Babasaheb is no less than God. He is a messiah for Dalits, tribals, backward, minorities and the poor.”

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra posted pictures of the Opposition protest. “Ambedkar ji’s name gives rights, Ambedkar ji’s name is a symbol of human dignity, Ambedkar ji’s name is a symbol of self-respect for crores of Dalits and deprived,” she said.

Ahead of Delhi elections in February next year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today announced free treatment for senior citizens at all government and private hospitals. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal said people above the age of 60 will be treated for free as part of the ‘Sanjeevani Yojana’ once his party retains power in the national capital.

“It is now our duty to take care of you. You people have worked hard to take the country forward,” the former Delhi chief minister said.

The AAP has released the names of its candidates for all 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly. Mr Kejriwal has confirmed that he will contest from his New Delhi seat in the upcoming polls while Chief Minister Atishi will fight from her Kalkaji constituency.  

“There will be no upper limit on the cost of treatment. Registration for this will start in a day or two. AAP workers will come to your home for registration. They will give you a card, keep it safe. Once we come into power after the elections, this policy will be implemented,” Mr Kejriwal said. 

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has called for a preparatory meeting this week over next year’s Delhi elections. The dates for the much-anticipated polls will be announced shortly after this meeting, sources said. 
 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss the selection of the next Chairperson for the National Human Rights Commission, sources told NDTV Wednesday afternoon. Mr Gandhi and Mr Kharge are members – as Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament – of the committee that is led by the PM and which will oversee this critical appointment.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla were also present.

The meeting comes as a fractured and disrupted winter session of Parliament – marked by the introduction of the contentious ‘one nation, one election‘ bill and a stormy debate on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution – enters its final 72 hours; the session concludes December 20.

It also comes amid furious protests by the Congress and other opposition parties over comments made last evening by Mr Shah, in concluding remarks on the debate on the Constitution. The Home Minister ripped into the Congress for repeatedly invoking Dr Ambedkar’s name before and during the debate.

To invoke his name has become the “fashion”, Mr Shah remarked sarcastically, declaring, “Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (…if they took God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven).”

READ | “No Less Than God”: Opposition Slams Shah’s Ambedkar Remark

Mr Shah then said the Congress’ insistence on praising Dr Ambedkar, the architect of India’s Constitution, was at odds with the Dalit icon’s “disagreements” with the Nehru-led Congress government of the time. “Ambedkarji said several times he was not satisfied with the treatment of Scheduled Castes and Tribes,” Mr Shah claimed to vociferous jeers from the opposition.

The remarks drew scathing counterattacks from Mr Gandhi, who said, “Those following Manusmriti will naturally be troubled by Ambedkar”, and Mr Kharge, who said the “insult” had again proven the BJP and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, were against the country’s interests.

This morning, in a sign the ferocity of the opposition party’s protests had perhaps unsettled the government, the Prime Minister responded to the criticism of his No 2, telling the Congress it was “gravely mistaken” if they thought “malicious lies” could hide its insulting of Dr Ambedkar.

READ | PM Leads Firefight As Opposition Steps Up “Ambedkar” Attack

“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 SC/ST communities,” he said.

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…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 18, 2024

Sharing a video of Mr Shah’s remarks, the PM said the Home Minister had “exposed the Congress’ dark history of insulting Dr Ambedkar…” “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,” he said.

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