Union Home Minister Amit Shah insulted Dr BR Ambedkar during his speech on Tuesday, and the work of both the Houses of the Parliament came to a standstill after opposition members protested.
During the debate on the constitution, the opposition seized on a part of Shah’s speech: “Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai – Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar … Itna naam agar Bhagwan ka let to saath janmon tak swarg mil jata (. There is a fashion these days – Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar… If one chants God’s name this many times, one would attain heaven in seven births, he added, “We are happy that Ambedkar’s name has been taken,” the Congress. Before listing the “injustice” towards him.
In the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, amid protests from the opposition, Speaker Jagdeep Dhankhar said that conferring the Bharat Ratna on Dr Ambedkar was a privilege of being a member of the House and the Cabinet, and it was good. Such interest in his teachings these days.
In the morning, after the House proceeded to the scheduled zero hour, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh alleged that Shah had “insulted” Ambedkar with his remarks. Other Congress MPs started shouting slogans.
Opposing them, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “Yesterday we heard the Home Minister expressing his respect for Dr. Ambedkar in very clear terms. He (Shah) also told how the Congress insulted him during his lifetime and did not award him the Bharat Ratna even after his death.
Rijiju alleged that “Congress conspiracies ensured Ambedkar’s defeat” when he contested from Mumbai and later Vidarbha. The House was then adjourned till 2 pm.
When the House reconvened, Dhankhar asked to discuss and pass the Banking Regulation Bill. However, as Rijiju began to speak, Congress member Pramod Tiwari raised a point of order under Rule 238, saying “Home Minister Amit Shah insulted Dr BR Ambedkar in his speech on Tuesday”.
To this, Rijiju repeated his comments before the House adjourned and said that the Congress was “using only 11 to 12 seconds of Shah’s speech and trying to mislead the country”. “Congress has tried to erase Dr. Ambedkar from the history of India… You have not tried to save Babasaheb’s house or his birth place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started celebrating Constitution Day,” he said.
RS opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We have not brought anything new. We are repeating what Amit Shah has mocked Babasaheb. They have insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Constitution. This government is anti-Dalit.”
Leader of the House JP Nadda stood up and said the Congress was “misleading” the country. He said, “When Ambedkarji was alive, you never heard of him.”
Dhankhar adjourned the meeting for the day after both the treasurer and opposition bench members raised slogans against each other.
Earlier, in the Lok Sabha, amid opposition protests, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal alleged that the Congress had always “insulted” Ambedkar, and “today they are putting up his photograph and talking about him under compulsion”.
Congress members attacked Vel by displaying posters of Ambedkar and apologized for Shah’s remarks. Speaker Om Birla requested the Speaker to allow the quiz to continue, but the House was adjourned till 2 pm as the dharna continued. After the meeting resumed, PC Mohan, who was presiding over the meeting, adjourned the meeting for the whole day.
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