The Parliament premises witnessed a dramatic showdown on Thursday as members of the BJP and Congress engaged in simultaneous protests, ignited by Union Home Minister Amit Shah's controversial remarks about BR Ambedkar during a parliamentary session.
Who pushed who?
Tensions escalated as MPs from both parties confronted each other, brandishing placards adorned with images of Ambedkar. The clash resulted in injuries to BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi, who was reportedly hurt when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pushed another MP into him. Sarangi was subsequently taken to a hospital for treatment.
In response, Rahul Gandhi refuted the BJP's claims, asserting that it was BJP MPs who had physically blocked him from entering Parliament and had pushed Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. "This might be on your camera. I was trying to go inside through the Parliament entrance, BJP MPs were trying to stop me, push me and threaten me," Gandhi stated.
Opposition dressed in blue
Leaders from the opposition INDIA bloc, including Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, demonstrated their dissent by scaling the walls of Makar Dwar, the main entrance to Parliament. Dressed in blue attire - a colour symbolising Dalit movements - they demanded an apology from Amit Shah and called for his resignation.
The BJP countered the protests by accusing Congress of misleading the public. Party members chanted slogans such as, "Insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar will not be tolerated," and displayed banners proclaiming, "Ambedkar showed us the path, Congress misled."
What did Shah say?
The uproar stemmed from a video shared by Congress, in which Amit Shah was seen making remarks perceived as disrespectful to Ambedkar, stating, "It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar... If they had taken God's name so many times, they would have secured a place in heaven across all seven lives." The Congress party condemned these comments as an insult to the architect of the Indian Constitution.
In retaliation, the BJP accused the Congress of historically disrespecting Ambedkar for political gain and claimed that the video shared by the Congress had been manipulated. They warned of potential legal action against the opposition party.