The Congress will launch its campaign seeking the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on B.R. Ambedkar after January 3, the party said on Sunday.
The ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhaan’ campaign was scheduled to begin this week, but put on hold due to the party’s seven-day mourning for former prime minister Manmohan Singh who died on Thursday night.
"The campaign that was announced in Belagavi has been put on hold till 3rd January to observe a 7-day mourning for Dr Manmohan Singh... After the 3rd, we will hold rallies for the 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhaan' campaign," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh told news agency ANI.
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The party announced its decision to hold nationwide protests and rallies at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on December 26.
Ramesh said a huge rally would be held at the birthplace of Ambedkar on January 26.
“From January 25, 2025, to January 25, 2026, we will take out the 'Samvidhaan Bachao Rashtriya Padyatra' across the country... Our only demand is that the home minister apologise and resign," he said.
READ - Congress demands Amit Shah's apology for 'Ambedkar remark'
During a debate in Rajya Sabha on the 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution on December 17, Shah took a swipe at the opposition for always using the name of Ambedkar.
“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,” he said.
The Congress and other INDIA bloc parties termed it as an insult to the Constitution framer and demanded and apology from the home minister.
READ - Congress to hold nationwide protest over Amit Shah's remarks on Ambedkar
"Amit Shah has said something very disgusting. This shows that the BJP and RSS leaders have a lot of hatred for Baba Saheb Ambedkar. The hatred is such that they are annoyed even by his name. These are the same people whose ancestors used to burn the effigies of Baba Saheb, who themselves used to talk about changing the Constitution given by Baba Saheb," Ramesh had said in a post on X.
The Congress announced a month-long campaign featuring state-level rallies and village meetings as part of its protest programmes.
