 "'Amit Shah is mad, he should resign', says Lalu Yadav over Ambedkar issue")
Amid the controversy surrounding Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comments on BR Ambedkar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav criticised Shah, calling him “mad” and urging him to step down from politics.
Yadav’s remarks came in response to Shah’s comments during the Constitution debate in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, where the Home Minister claimed that it had become a ‘fashion’ for the Congress to invoke Ambedkar’s name.
“Amit Shah has gone mad. He must have hatred for Babasaheb Ambedkar. We condemn this madness of his. Babasaheb Ambedkar is great. He should renounce politics and leave,” Lalu Yadav was quoted as saying by ANI.
Earlier, Tejashwi Yadav, former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, accused the BJP and Shah of being “anti-constitution” and fostering hatred.
“Babasaheb Ambedkar is our fashion and passion. He is also our motivation and inspiration. We will not let anyone insult Babasaheb Ambedkar. These people are anti-constitution who spread hatred, and the language used in Parliament is condemnable,” Tejashwi Yadav told ANI.
In a related development, Congress MP Manickam Tagore introduced an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, demanding an apology from Amit Shah. “He [Amit Shah] insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar inside Parliament. Therefore, today we have moved an adjournment motion for his apology as well as resignation from the cabinet,” he said.
What did Amit Shah say about BR Ambedkar?
The controversy erupted after Shah criticised the Congress for repeatedly invoking Ambedkar’s name, calling it a “fashion”.
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“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…. If they had taken God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven’), Shah had said, referring to the Congress party.
In response, the Congress accused Shah of disrespecting Ambedkar. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge demanded Shah’s resignation and a public apology. Congress members, joined by other Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, protested on the Parliament grounds, holding pictures of Ambedkar.
Congress plans countrywide protest
The Congress announced a nationwide protest on Thursday, demanding the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah following his controversial remarks on BR Ambedkar made on Tuesday in the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.
The protest will take place across the country at the Pradesh Congress Committees (PCC) offices at both state and district levels.
[With agency inputs]