Dehradun, Dec 23 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Gurdeep Singh Sappal on Monday demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah's expulsion from the Modi Cabinet for allegedly insulting BR Ambedkar in Parliament.
Sappal, a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee, also slammed Shah for not apologising for his remarks against the chief architect of the Constitution.
"Shah's insult to Ambedkar in Parliament shocked the nation. Despite that, he has not apologised. On the contrary, top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been defending him," the Congress leader said during a press conference in Dehradun.
"It reveals the true mindset of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and the BJP. They have always been against the Constitution and its creators," Sappal said.
The home minister disrespecting the "father of India's Constitution" cannot be tolerated, he added.
The Congress has launched a weeklong nationwide campaign against Shah, alleging that he insulted Ambedkar while participating in a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha.
As part of the "Ambedkar Samman Saptah", Congress workers and leaders are holding marches and press conferences to remember Ambedkar's legacy.
A massive political row erupted last week as the Congress and other opposition parties launched an all-out attack on Shah for his remarks on Ambedkar and demanded his sacking while Modi and other top BJP leaders rallied to his defence and said he had exposed the Congress' "anti-Ambedkar" stand.
Announcing an agitation against Shah for his remarks, Sappal said Congress workers would garland statues of Ambedkar around the country on Tuesday and submit a memorandum to the president, demanding his expulsion from the Cabinet.
Rebutting the BJP's allegation that the Congress never respected Ambedkar, Sappal said he was made part of independent India's first Cabinet, his statue was installed on the Parliament premises by a Congress government in 1967, and efforts to build his memorial in Delhi was started by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government headed by Manmohan Singh.
Attacking the RSS for always opposing the Constitution and Ambedkar, the Congress leader accused its volunteers of burning effigies of the Constitution's chief architect to protest against a Hindu code bill.