Patna, Dec 18 (PTI) The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Wednesday launched an all-out attack against the BJP over Union Home Minister Amit Shah's controversial remarks about Babasaheb Ambedkar, over which the Narendra Modi government has come under heavy opposition fire.
While Lalu Prasad, the RJD's founding president, accused Shah of having hurled "abuse" (gaali) at Ambedkar, Prasad's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav called the 'Father of the Constitution' "our passion, not just a fashion".
The ruling BJP at the Centre has been in the eye of a storm over a speech by Shah, its second-most powerful leader after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the Rajya Sabha.
Shah had said, "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 nowadays to chant 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 was addressing the Rajya Sabha at the conclusion of a two-day debate on the 'Glorious Journey of 75 years of the Constitution of India'.
The remark has drawn flak from parties such as the Congress, which helms the INDIA bloc, of which the RJD is also a part.
While RJD workers burnt an effigy of Shah close to the party's office and demanded his expulsion from the Union cabinet, Lalu Prasad came out with a strongly worded statement of condemnation.
The former Bihar chief minister alleged that the BJP drew inspiration from 'Bunch of Thoughts', penned by RSS ideologue MS Golwalkar, and has "hatred for the downtrodden, the Dalits and the backward whose cause Ambedkar championed, and for the Constitution he drafted, runs in the blood of that party's leaders".
Without mentioning Shah by name, Prasad, who is out on bail, having been convicted in many fodder scam cases, added, "The BJP-RSS cannot adopt the thinking of our revered Ambedkar. So, now, they have started hurling abuse (gaali) at Ambedkar. Even the body language of BJP leaders has become reflective of their hatred."
Apparently targeting BJP's allies such as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U), and Union ministers Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi, the RJD supremo said, "Those who continue to support the BJP even after Ambedkar's insult, shall be deemed to be sycophants and boot-lickers (poojak aur kattar talwa chaatak)."
Tejashwi Yadav, a former deputy chief minister who is now the leader of the opposition, told reporters in Araria district, "We strongly condemn the remarks made by Amit Shah, whose words and body language showed clear disrespect for Babasaheb Ambedkar."
"For us, Ambedkar is not just a fashion. He is our passion as well as a source of motivation. The BJP has sprung from the RSS, which had played no part in the Independence movement and, therefore, finds itself bereft of icons. To cover up the deficiency, BJP leaders have been trying to belittle Gandhi and Nehru. Now they have gone after Ambedkar. But we are not going to tolerate this," Yadav added.