Kharge tears into Amit Shah: ‘Get your facts straight before abusing Ambedkar, Nehru’

On a day that witnessed high drama unfolding on the parliament premises, with both ruling and opposition parties accusing each other of manhandling and misbehaviour, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at Home Minister Amit Shah over the latter’s remarks on B.R. Ambedkar.

Kharge, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said the home minister should verify the facts before abusing national icons like Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru.

"The statements that the government, especially the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, are making about Dr B.R. Ambedkar are very sad. He (Amit Shah) addressed the press conference yesterday without looking at the facts. They should look at the facts before abusing Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr BR Ambedkar,” he said.

The Congress veteran was addressing a press conference after the opposition and NDA MPs were engaged in a face-off over the alleged insult to Ambedkar.

The BJP accused Rahul Gandhi of pushing senior member Pratap Chandra Sarangi, a charge the Congress leader rejected. The Congress, meanwhile, claimed that the BJP MPs pushed its chief Kharge and "physically manhandled" Rahul who is the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha.

While condemning Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar, Kharge reiterated his party’s demand that the home minister be sacked from the Union cabinet.

“We demanded that Amit Shah be sacked. We knew it wouldn’t be done, that's why we carried out protests,” he said.

The Congress chief alleged that the BJP MPs blocked them from entering the parliament and even pushed him. “They pushed me, I lost my balance and sat down”.

He further claimed that the Congress would launch a nationwide movement on the Ambedkar issue.