Ambedkar row: Amit Shah accuses Congress of lying and distorting facts

The row over Home Minister Amit Shah’s reference to Dr B.R. Ambedkar during a speech in the Rajya Sabha escalated as Opposition parties demanded his resignation, alleging that he had humiliated Ambedkar. In response, Shah accused the Congress of distorting facts and lying.

“When there are ruling and opposition parties inside the House, different views are natural. But discussions in Parliament should be based on facts and truth. The way Congress has twisted the facts is highly condemnable,” Shah said during a press conference at the BJP headquarters. 

“I come from that party and values which not even in a dream can think of disrespecting Babasaheb Ambedkar. I would have been happy if they (Congress) had challenged me on facts. My speech was based on facts, but they wrongly distorted my statement, edited it and tried to present it in a wrong way." 

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The home minister, flanked by senior ministerial colleagues including J.P. Nadda, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Kiren Rijiju, addressed the press meet on a day when both houses of parliament were marked by protests over his comments. The issue brought together all the leaders of the INIDA bloc as they demanded Shah’s apology. Instead of letting the allegations against him grow louder, as they have the potential to damage the party’s prospects, the BJP tried to set the record right.

Shah said, “The controversy arose as BJP leaders discussed the making of the Constitution, its values, and how successive Congress and BJP governments preserved them. Using historical references, BJP leaders highlighted how the Congress was against Ambedkar, anti-reservation, and opposed to the Constitution.” Shah also accused the Congress of humiliating V.D. Savarkar, undermining constitutional values during the Emergency, neglecting women’s rights, disrespecting the judiciary, and even ceding Indian territory to foreign powers.

Shah alleged that the Congress marginalised Ambedkar during his lifetime and after his death. He claimed Congress worked to ensure Ambedkar’s defeat in the 1951 and 1954 Lok Sabha elections. Shah further pointed out that while the Congress awarded Bharat Ratnas to its leaders, Ambedkar received the honour only in 1990 under a BJP-supported government.

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The controversy erupted over Shah’s comment suggesting that the Congress had recently begun invoking Ambedkar’s name for political gain. "Had you (Congress) taken God’s name as much, you might have attained heaven," Shah quipped. He clarified that his remarks were aimed at highlighting the Congress’s historical opposition to Ambedkar, questioning the validity of invoking his name during elections while ignoring his legacy when he was alive.

Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, had condemned Congress for distorting Shah’s statements.

Shah took pains to highlight all the instances of slights by the previous governments. He said Ambedkar was ignored by the Congress governments, and it was only when the non-Congress governments came that the sites related to Ambedkar were developed. Shah said that the Modi government had preserved and developed five sites related to the constitution framer.

The home minister said the Congress even during the polls had brought AI-generated voice on his video. The truth should be brought out as to how they distorted my speech in Rajya Sabha.

Shah specifically invoked Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, saying as he also came from the marginalised community he should not fall prey to misinformation on Ambedkar.

As the parliament session will continue for two more days, the controversy is likely to escalate with the Opposition raising it again.