Home Minister Amit Shah hit back at the Congress on Wednesday, saying it had distorted his remarks on Dr BR Ambedkar to spread lies. "The way the Congress has tried to distort the facts since yesterday is extremely reprehensible and I want to condemn it," he said in a press conference.
Shah said that Congress did it because the BJP leaders exposed the grand old party by proving that it was anti-Ambedkar and anti-Constitution. "Congress opposed Ambedkar ji, Congress is an anti-reservation and anti-constitution party. Congress also insulted Savarkar Ji. By imposing the Emergency, Congress destroyed all the values of the Constitution, ignored the dignity of women for years, always insulted the judiciary, insulted the martyrs of the army and even had the audacity to give away the land of India to other countries."
The Home Minister said that during the Parliamentary discussion, it was demonstrated that Congress was opposed to Dr BR Ambedkar. "After his passing, Congress attempted to marginalise him. When the Constitution Committee completed its work and elections took place in 1951-52 and 1955, Congress took various measures to defeat him at the polls."
Shah said that since yesterday, the Congress had once again adopted its old method and had made a despicable attempt to spread confusion in society by distorting things and dressing the truth in the garb of falsehood. "During the discussion in the Parliament it was proved how strongly the Congress had opposed Baba Saheb Ambedkar. How the Congress tried to push Baba Saheb to the margins even after his demise."
Shah also accused Congress of not recognising Ambedkar's contribution. He said the Congress leaders gave themselves Bharat Ratna but ignored Ambedkar. "In 1955, Nehru ji gave himself Bharat Ratna, in 1971, Indira ji gave herself Bharat Ratna. But Baba Saheb got Bharat Ratna in 1990 when Congress was not in power and there was a government supported by BJP. Till 1990, Congress kept making efforts to ensure that Baba Saheb did not get Bharat Ratna. Even the celebration of Baba Saheb's 100th birth anniversary was banned."
Earlier today, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge criticised Amit Shah and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack him from the Union Cabinet by midnight if he had faith in the Dalit icon. Kharge demanded Shah's apology for his remarks and said people would hit the streets if PM Modi had not sacked the Union Home Minister from the Union Cabinet.
"Our demand is that Amit Shah should apologise and if PM Modi has faith in Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, he should be sacked by midnight. He has no right to remain in the cabinet. He should be sacked and only then people will remain silent, otherwise, people will protest. People are ready to sacrifice their lives for Dr BR Ambedkar," he said.
Kharge said the Home Minister accused us of speaking about Ambedkar 100 times and "told us that had we remembered God so many times we could have achieved heaven seven times". "The 'insult' caused to Babasaheb Ambedkar by Amit Shah is wrong. I demand his resignation," he said. "Shah has insulted Babasaheb and the Constitution written by him," Kharge, who was flanked by other opposition leaders, charged.
During his speech, the Home Minister said that it had become a fashion to say 'Ambedkar, Ambedkar'. "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)."
Shah attacked the Congress in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, saying the party treated the Constitution as the "private fiefdom" of one family and "played fraud" with Parliament. He ripped into Congress for its appeasement politics and claimed that the party wanted to breach the 50 per cent quota limit to provide reservation to Muslims. He also asked Congress if it supported the Muslim personal law and alleged that the party never worked for the welfare of the backward classes.