Stop the ‘Drama’, Apologise for Insulting Ambedkar, BJP Tells Congress
New Delhi: The BJP on Monday accused the Congress of running a smear campaign against Union Home Minister Amit Shah following allegations that his remarks in the Rajya Sabha insulted Dr B.R. Ambedkar.
The ruling party said that instead of engaging in "drama", the Congress should apologise for always "insulting and humiliating" Ambedkar. The saffron party also accused the Congress of using out of context a small portion of Mr Shah's recent speech in the Rajya Sabha in a bid to "establish its political identity".
"The Congress, which always insulted B.R. Ambedkar, is holding press conferences across the country. Stop this drama. Stop this hypocrisy," senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a press conference at the party headquarters.
"First of all, publicly apologise and then hold press conferences," said Mr Prasad.
He also said that the people of the country were very mature and the Opposition party's efforts will not succeed.
"The Congress party's recent show of admiration for Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar is nothing but a hollow drama. The Congress' past actions completely contradict their current stance," said the BJP leader.
Mr Prasad said the BJP would hold press conferences around the country to "expose" the Congress by telling people how the party and its leaders insulted Ambedkar.
"We have all the proof," he added.
The BJP leader also slammed Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal for describing as a "badge of honour" the FIR against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in connection with last week's face-off between ruling and Opposition MPs on the Parliament premises.
"A case was filed against Rahul Gandhi for pushing and shoving (BJP) MPs and a Congress general secretary, who is very close to him, said it was a badge of honour in their fight to honour the legacy of B.R. Ambedkar… What a bundle of lies," he said.
Mr Gandhi is wearing "badge of dishonour for insulting and humiliating the legacy of Ambedkar", he charged.
Mr Prasad said the BJP believed that all those who made "some honest efforts" to build the nation should be respected.
"This is the difference (between the Congress and the BJP)... We honour even our staunch rivals who have tried to build the nation in their own ways. We published a book on E.M.S. Namboodiripad [CPI(M) leader and Kerala's first chief minister] when Atal Behari Vajpayee was prime minister," he said.
After the BJP assumed power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan was conferred with the Padma Bhushan and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) supremo Sharad Pawar the Padma Vibhushan, he added.
Asked about Jawaharlal Nehru, Prasad said, "The biggest proof of honouring our rivals is the Prime Ministers' memorial and museum. Earlier, only Nehru's memorial was there. Now, there is (a memorial of) every prime minister. The country should remember all the prime ministers."
Continuing its agitation against Mr Amit Shah, alleging that he insulted Ambedkar with his remarks while participating in a debate on the Constitution in the Upper House last week, the Congress is holding countrywide press conferences and "Ambedkar samman (respect)" marches in the next few days.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, "It has become a fashion for the BJP to blame Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi and Congress leaders of the past. They use this tactic whenever they have no response on pressing issues of today's India."
The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress announced an "Ambedkar Samman March" on Tuesday in Jammu to press for the demands. "We demand the resignation of Mr Shah, besides a public apology, for his remarks on Ambedkar in Parliament. We will continue to fight for it," the Congress' Jammu and Kashmir working president, Raman Bhalla, told reporters, as quoted by a news agency.
