Same old...: Ambedkar's grandson on Shah's 'fashion' remark

Babasaheb Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar alleged on Wednesday that Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on the father of the Constitution reflected the Bharatiya Janata Party's "same old mentality".

Several MPs of the INDIA bloc staged a protest in Parliament premises demanding Shah's apology for his remarks on B R Ambedkar which they claimed were an insult to B R Ambedkar.

The Congress also demanded that Shah apologise publicly and in Parliament.

"Before the BJP came into existence, its forerunners Jan Sangh and RSS had opposed Babasaheb while the Constitution was being adopted," Prakash Ambedkar, who heads Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, told reporters in Pune.

He said Shah's statement has brought the same old mentality of the BJP to the fore.

"There is nothing new in the statement. They are not able to execute their old plans. Not because of Congress, but because of Babasaheb Ambedkar and they will continue to sulk," said Prakash Ambedkar.

Congress general secretary-in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh had shared a video snippet on X from Shah's speech in Rajya Sabha.

"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 a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar'. If they had taken God's name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven)," Shah had said, taking a swipe at the opposition.

Prakash Ambedkar, meanwhile, demanded a Rs 1 crore compensation to the kin of Somnath Suryawanshi who allegedly died in judicial custody after he was arrested in connection with violence in Parbhani city over the desecration of the replica of the Constitution.

He said Shah's remarks imply that one should revere God and not B R Ambedkar because revering the father of the Constitution means accepting the freedom of speech.

"Revering God is as good as accepting 'manuwad'," he said.

He accused MVA leaders of seeking votes in the name of Jyotiba Phule, Shahu Maharaj, and B R Ambedkar but did not bother to visit Parbhani.

"The violence in Parbhani was an attempt to create a Godhra-like situation," he alleged.

The violence was a fallout of a dispute between two Maratha leaders, he claimed and announced the formation of a fact-finding committee to expose perpetrators.

He said the passage of bills to introduce the mechanism for simultaneous polls in Lok Sabha would mean the end of political parties.

"The Congress has only five to six days to take a concrete stand on the bills. The failure to take a stand and the passage of the bills means the end of political parties. Sharad Pawar led NCP's stand will be crucial," Prakash Ambedkar added.

The passage of the bill for synchronised polls will pave the way for dictatorship and dismantling the basic structure of parliamentary democracy, he alleged.