Kharge demands Shah's resignation over remarks on Dr Ambedkar

New Delhi [India], December 18 (ANI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Amit Shah, demanding his resignation for his remarks regarding Dr BR Ambedkar. He said that the entire country would be under fire if he kept talking like this because people would not tolerate Babasaheb Ambedkar's insult.
Kharge accused Shah of "insulting" Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Constitution. He said that the Union Home Minister should apologise to the country and tender his resignation.
"He has insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Constitution. His ideology of Manusmriti and RSS makes it clear that he does not want to respect Baba Saheb Ambedkar's Constitution. We condemn this and we demand his resignation. All the parties demand his resignation. He should apologise to the country...If he keeps talking like this, the entire country will be under fire because people will not tolerate Babasaheb Ambedkar's insult. He should resign from his position," Kharge, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha, told reporters outside the Parliament.
This comes after Amit Shah, in his address in the Rajya Sabha at the conclusion of a two-day discussion in Rajya Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution on Tuesday, lashed out at the Congress party and said that it had become a 'fashion' for the party to take Ambedkar's name.
"If they had taken the name of god so many times instead of Ambedkar then they would have got heaven for 7 lives," he said.
Reacting to this, senior Congress MP Kharge said that Shah's remarks suggest that taking Babasaheb Ambedkar's name was a crime and it shows he intended to oppose the Constitution.
"When Amit Shah was talking about Dr BR Ambedkar, he said 'You people keep taking the name of Ambedkar 100 times, if you took the name of God these many times, you would have gone to heaven 7 times'. This means that taking the name of Baba Saheb Ambedkar is a crime and his intention was to oppose the Constitution made by Babasaheb Ambedkar. I opposed this by raising my hand, but I was not given the opportunity...Since proceedings of the House on Babasaheb Ambedkar's constitution were underway, we decided to remain silent...The insult of Babasaheb by Shah is wrong and I demand his resignation..." Kharge said.
Meanwhile, amid the chaos in both houses of Parliament, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Wednesday accused Congress of sidelining Dr BR Ambedkar, saying they have brought his photograph and are taking his name in "compulsion."
"Congress has always sidelined BR Ambedkar, they have brought his photo and are taking his name in compulsion. They defeated him twice in elections. His name will be written in golden letters," Meghwal said in Lok Sabha.
The Union Minister was speaking in the Lok Sabha amid sloganeering by the opposition members in protest against remarks made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha regarding Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Earlier, the opposition also carried out protests at the Parliament premises today, holding Dr Ambedkar's photograph. As this happened, both houses of the Parliament - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - were adjourned till 2:00 PM today.(ANI)