On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congress of propagating baseless allegations across the country. Responding to the Opposition’s criticism of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on Babasaheb Ambedkar, Prasad alleged that the Congress had a long history of disrespecting Ambedkar.
“The Congress is spreading baseless lies across the country. They have always disrespected Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Ambedkar, who was compelled to resign as India’s Law Minister,” Prasad told reporters.
“Ambedkar himself documented everything about Nehru’s tenure in detail. Amit Shah has exposed the conspiracies against Babasaheb. During the recent debates on the Constitution, Congress’s historical wrongdoings have come to light. Now, they are misinterpreting Shah’s statements out of agitation,” he added.
Meanwhile, Defending Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted that his remarks had exposed the Congress’s “dark history” of disrespecting Ambedkar. Modi claimed the Congress was now “stung and stunned” by the facts presented. In a series of posts on X, Modi criticised the Congress for its failure to uplift Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities during its years in power.
“In Parliament, Amit Shah Ji unveiled the Congress’s dark history of insulting Dr Ambedkar and neglecting SC/ST communities. Their reaction clearly shows they are rattled by the truth. Unfortunately for them, people are aware of the reality. Despite decades in power, the Congress failed to take meaningful steps to empower SC/ST communities,” PM Modi said.
He further listed the Congress’s “sins” against Ambedkar, highlighting how the party defeated him in elections twice, with Nehru personally campaigning against him and making his defeat a prestige issue. Modi also pointed out that Ambedkar was denied the Bharat Ratna and his portrait was initially not given a place of prominence in Parliament’s Central Hall.
Amit Shah’s controversial remarks were made during a Rajya Sabha debate on Tuesday, commemorating 75 years of the Constitution. Shah had stated that invoking Ambedkar’s name had become a “fashion” for Opposition leaders. “If they had taken God’s name as often as they take Ambedkar’s, they would have secured heaven for seven lives,” Shah said.