Amid ongoing protests over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar, Congress leader Ajoy Kumar alleged that the BJP, “following the principles of Manusmriti”, has always “insulted” Dalits.
A member of the AICC executive committee, in a statement issued here on Sunday, said “the true character of the BJP, working on Manusmriti, has been exposed” by Shah’s comments in the Rajya Sabha. “The mindset of BJP leaders has always been anti-Dalit, which often comes out in their statements intentionally or unintentionally,” Kumar said. Shah’s comment on Ambedkar was ‘not only an insult to him but also to many Dalits of the country who regard him as God’, said Kumar, AICC in charge of Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The Congress leader alleged that “the BJP was against the caste-based census because of its anti-Dalit approach”. “It was not the first time that BJP’s anti-Dalit character came to the fore … there have been many instances in the past,” said Kumar, who lost to BJP’s Purnima Das Sahu from the Jamshedpur East seat in the recent Jharkhand assembly elections.
“It was the Congress of Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru that always respected Dalits,” Kumar said. He demanded that Shah publicly apologize to the nation.
During the debate on the Constitution in Rajya Sabha last week, Shah had said, “Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai – Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar Bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (It has become fashionable to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. If they had taken God’s name so many times, they would have reached heaven for seven years in their lifetime).” On Wednesday, Shah held a press conference where he accused the Congress of twisting the facts and distorting his comments in the Rajya Sabha.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed continuous protests from the treasury benches and opposition members over the alleged insult of Ambedkar until both the houses were adjourned sine die on Friday.
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