Kerala Congress to march to District Collectorates over Amit Shah’s speech on Ambedkar, to change election law.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in conversation with Congress MP KC Venugopal in New Delhi. File | Photo Credit: ANI

The Congress will hold a march to the District Collectorates in Kerala on December 24 to highlight Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s allegedly disparaging comments about the late Dr. BR Ambedkar, shadow chairman of the committee that drafted the Constitution of India.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal, a Member of Parliament, told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that Congress activists would meet the relevant district collectors and submit a signed petition demanding Mr Shah’s resignation.

He said the Members of Parliament of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) again humiliated Dr. Ambedkar by putting his picture together with a US-based businessman during a protest outside the Parliament House.

Mr. Venugopal said that the Congress will consider the speech of Mr. Shah “humiliating” Parliament in rural and urban areas. “Mr. Shah had noted that mocking the name of God will protect heaven rather than singing Dr. Ambedkar,” he added.

He said that Indian democracy is at risk. “The BJP-led Central Government has systematically undermined the Election Commission of India’s (ECI’s) independence,” he said.

First, the Union Government replaced the Chief Justice with a Cabinet Minister in the panel that selected the Chief Election Commissioner of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi were other members. “The panel’s rejig stacked the decks in favor of the BJP nominee for the top constitutional post,” he said.

Mr. Venugopal said the Union Government had recently amended the Election Code of Conduct to restrict public access to the final voter list.

He said the BJP’s move came after the INDIA party urged the ECI to release election records related to the recent polls in Maharashtra and Haryana, especially the last-minute voting details.

Mr. Venugopal said the Center was quick to amend the Election Administration rules after the Haryana High Court ordered the ECI to release the documents sought by India’s allies.