New Delhi: Facing a massive onslaught from the Opposition, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hit back, particularly at the Congress, asserting that instead of addressing the facts presented by the ruling party in Parliament about the Opposition’s “anti-Ambedkar” stance, the Congress had chosen to distort his comments.
Mr Shah reached the BJP headquarters to clarify his remarks.
Addressing a press conference at BJP headquarters, Mr Shah said the Congress was left with no answer following the discussion in Parliament. The party, he added, has adopted the tactic of misrepresenting and distorting statements, including those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and then creating an uproar to mislead people.
He accused the Opposition of using “old tricks” to mislead society by presenting facts “tod marod ke (distorted manner)”. Mr Shah asserted that he comes from a party that can never insult Dr B.R. Ambedkar.
"I condemn the Congress for twisting facts. Why did it happen? It happened because BJP leaders spoke on how the NDA governments upheld the Constitution and established with facts that the Congress is anti-Ambedkar, anti-Constitution and anti-reservation," Mr Shah said. He also hit out at the Opposition party for insulting V.D. Savarkar and said that the party blew to smithereens the values enshrined in the Constitution by imposing the Emergency.
Replying to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s demand for his resignation, the home minister, in a lighter vein, said that he can quit if this will make the Congress president happy but it will never solve his problems. He added that Mr Kharge has “to remain in his chair”, a reference to his party being in the Opposition, for 15 more years.
Mr Shah also maintained that the Congress president should do an introspection as he acted under Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's pressure to be part of this "malicious" campaign against him by distorting his views on Ambedkar.
"My statement in the Rajya Sabha was distorted and misrepresented to the public... The Congress party has a tendency to distort statements and create unnecessary uproar. They previously edited a statement made by Prime Minister Modi and made it public. During the elections, my statement was also edited using AI technology and broadcast across the country,” said Mr Shah.
Mr Shah, replying to a question, added the party was considering legal action, both within and outside Parliament, against the distorted remarks.
Mr Kharge had accused Shah of disrespecting the architect of the Constitution and demanded an apology for the "insult" to Ambedkar. Accusing Mr Shah of disrespecting the architect of the Constitution, Mr Kharge said the home minister should apologise to the nation for the "insult" he caused to Ambedkar during his speech. He also warned that if Mr Shah is not removed from the Cabinet, people will take to the streets.
Mr Shah, flanked by Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Kiren Rijiju, Ashwini Vaishnav and J.P. Nadda, attacked the Congress for its repeated "insults" to Ambedkar. He highlighted how Mr Modi and the BJP have honoured Ambedkar's legacy, while the Congress, despite its leaders awarding themselves the Bharat Ratna, failed to acknowledge Ambedkar’s contributions to the nation and its democratic spirit.
“During the tenure of the Congress, no memorial of Babasaheb Ambedkar was built. when other parties came to power, they built the monument... PM Modi led BJP government developed Panchteerth in the memory of Babasaheb,” said the Union minister.