Amit Shah would have been 'scrap dealer' if there wasn't Ambedkar's Constitution, claims CM
Belagavi (Karnataka) Dec 19: Stepping up the attack against Union Minister Amit Shah for his comments on B R Ambedkar in Parliament, senior Congress leader and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday claimed that Shah would have been a "Gujari" (scrap dealer) if there wasn't Ambedkar's Constitution.
The chief minister further said that if Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar was really functioning under the Constitution, he should have immediately suspended Shah from the House.
Reading out a detailed statement in the assembly amid din by both BJP and the Congress MLAs over the issue, Siddaramaiah said the entire country has heard the "derogatory" words spoken by the Home Minister about Babasaheb Ambedkar.
During a debate on the Constitution in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Shah 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 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)."
Stating that there is nothing surprising in the words spoken by Shah, Siddaramaiah said what was in the minds of the BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders has come out in the open.
"First of all, I congratulate you (Amit Shah) for openly and courageously revealing the innermost opinion of the Bharatiya Janata Party about Babasaheb Ambedkar before the country and for finally telling the truth in your lifetime," he said.
He said that if there was no Constitution, Shah would have been a "scrap dealer" in his village and not the Home Minister of the country.
Shah on Wednesday accused the Congress of twisting facts and distorting his comments on B R Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha, asserting that its malicious campaign after the discussion on Constitution "established" the opposition party as being "anti-Ambedkar and anti-reservation". The Union minister also accused the Congress of adopting the tactic of "misrepresenting and distorting" statements.
Siddaramaiah also took a dig at Dhankhar for not taking action against Shah, saying if the Rajya Sabha Chairman was really functioning under the Constitution, he should have immediately suspended the Union minister from the House after his remarks.
The Karnataka chief minister alleged that the main reason behind BJP and Sangh Parivar's hatred for Ambedkar was the Constitution.
"Until this written Constitution came into force, the Indian society had the Manusmriti, which made caste and gender discrimination a law. Babasaheb Ambedkar, who hoped for freedom, equality and fraternity, not only gave the Constitution, but he also burned the unwritten Constitution Manusmriti that was in force until then," the CM said.
He noted that on December 25, 1927, Ambedkar publicly burned the Manusmriti and 22 years later, he created a new Constitution.
Siddaramaiah charged that the hatred of the BJP and the RSS for Ambedkar was not new.
According to him, the details of the statements made by RSS leaders, including its founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, his successor Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar and Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar against the Constitution are in the pages of history.
Babasaheb Ambedkar dedicated the Constitution to the country on November 30, 1949. Four days later, the RSS mouthpiece 'Organiser' wrote an editorial against the Constitution, he pointed out.
Siddaramaiah also read out a portion of the article: "There is no Indianness in the Constitution written by Ambedkar'¦. Even today, the laws mentioned in the Manusmriti are respected by the world. None of this counts for the Pandit who wrote the Constitution.''
"The RSS editorial had written against the Constitution, mocking Babasaheb as a ''Pandit''. The RSS is defending this editorial even today," the CM alleged.
"Golwalkar had also opposed Ambedkar and the Constitution in his book, 'Bunch of Thought', which is considered the Constitution of the RSS", he said.
Golwalkar wrote that after the Vedas, the most sacred book for the Hindu nation - Manusmriti, which has been the basis of our culture, traditions and customs since time immemorial, Siddaramaiah said.
Neither the BJP nor the RSS has so far rejected the "RSS editorial" that opposed the Constitution and Ambedkar, nor the views of Golwalkar and Savarkar, he said.
Siddaramaiah said Ambedkar was not an annoyance, but an eternal memory.
"As long as we breathe, as long as the Sun and Moon exist on this Earth, the memory of Ambedkar will be there. The more you insult him, the more he will bounce back and rise, and he will light up our path of progress," he underlined.
The CM also reiterated that if Ambedkar was not there, he and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge would not have occupied high positions. Instead, he would have had to stay in his village grazing cattle and sheep, he added.
The CM said it was on the expected lines that Shah blamed the opposition for twisting his statement.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi too came to the defense of his close friend and made a long statement. All this was expected," Siddaramaiah told the Assembly.
The Congress MLAs put out photos of Ambedkar on their tables, while the BJP displayed posters in the assembly, accusing Siddaramaiah of being anti-Hindu. Both sides raised slogans against each other.
The commotion led to the adjournment of the House twice by Speaker U T Khader.
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BJP MP from Nagaland alleges Rahul Gandhi 'misbehaved' with her during protest on Parliament premise
New Delhi, Dec 19: BJP MP from Nagaland S Phangnon Konyak on Thursday alleged in the Rajya Sabha that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came in her "close proximity" and shouted at her during a protest outside the Parliament's Makar Dwar which made her feel "extremely uncomfortable".
"My dignity and self-esteem have been deeply hurt by LoP Shri Rahul Gandhi ji," she said in a communication to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar who said he would look into it.
The BJP cited Konyak's allegation and injuries to its two other MPs as it alleged that Gandhi pushed and shoved its members and indulged in "indecent" conduct during the incident, even as the Congress rejected the charges and Gandhi said that it was the ruling party MPs who "stopped, threatened and intimidated" him.
Several NDA MPs criticised Gandhi for his "misbehaviour" and sought action against him.
Supporting the Nagaland MP's claim in the Upper House, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju alleged the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha had pushed her and charged physically while entering Parliament during morning hours.
Leader of the house and BJP president JP Nadda slammed the Congress leader's conduct as "an act of physical and mental harassment".
The allegation was, however, countered by DMK member Tiruchi Siva who said that nothing as claimed by treasury bench members took place.
"Today while protesting, it was a peaceful protest. I was standing outside just below the staircase of Makar Dwar. Something happened to me for which I feel really disheartened. Leader of the opposition of Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi ji came very close proximity of me. I really felt very uncomfortable and he started shouting at me which I felt is very unbecoming of a leader of the opposition,” Konyak said.
She was speaking amid protests by opposition members who were demanding an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging his remarks on Tuesday were an insult to B R Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution.
"His (Gandhi's) action was really bad and I feel disheartened and no lady member, let alone me, an ST member from Nagaland should not be made to feel like this. So I seek your protection for this letter for which I have already shared notice to you," Konyak said.
Minister Rijiju alleged Rahul Gandhi pushed two more members with such force that they were bleeding and have been hospitalised.
"This behaviour of the Congress party is shameful beyond our belief. We have numbers. We are not going to be afraid but we don't want to plummet the standard of Parliament by manhandling to this low.
"I plead to you all Congress members that the entire Congress should apologise to this house and the nation. This Parliament is not a wrestling arena.” Rijiju said.
He demanded that the entire Congress party should not only apologise to the Parliament but to the entire nation.
"The way Rahul Gandhi has beaten our two MPs, our MPs are agitated. Had we also manhandled in the same manner then what would have been the situation. ... We are not cowards but if our people will also start manhandling like Rahul Gandhi then how will democracy work,” Rijiju said.
At this, Nadda said that the discussion held on the Constitution in Parliament had exposed the Congress completely on how it twisted and misused it in the last 75 years and therefore the party members have "lost their mind".
"Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, in an undemocratic way, pushed our members who were protesting in a peaceful manner in which our two members were injured and are admitted to Ram Manohar Hospital...
"The way the leader of the opposition pushed our sister, Konyak, who is a member of the House, amounted to physical and mental harassment. It is a matter of privilege,” Nadda said.
Dhankar said that he has received communication from Konyak and she also met in his chamber.
"I am looking into it. She was literally in tears.... she could never believe that as a lady member she could suffer so much at the hands of another member of Parliament,” Dhankar.
DMK's Tiruchi Siva contested the claims made by the treasury bench members.
"This is the version of one side. There was a demonstration going on outside and Mr Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the other house, is a very senior person and he has complained that he was only pushed. We respect all elder members. We respect every woman in this country. Nothing has happened of that sort,” he said.
Dhankar repeated that Konyak had complained to him and was in tears.
Both the treasury bench and opposition members continued sloganeering during the statements made by treasury bench members.
The House was adjourned for the day after Siva spoke.
The alleged incidents occurred during a face-off between the opposition and NDA MPs in Parliament premises.
A number of MPs of the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance were protesting at the steps of 'Makar Dwar against the Congress' alleged insult of Ambedkar, while MPs from the Congress and its allies were demonstrating over Union Minister Home Shah's remarks on Ambedkar and accused the BJP of slighting the architect of the Constitution.
BJP MPs alleged that INDIA bloc members insisted on entering Parliament by passing through the BJP MPs who were holding a protest, instead of using the space left empty on one side of the staircase Makar Dwar, used by members to enter and exit the building.
In her letter to the Chairman, Phangnon Konyak said Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi along with other party MPs came in front of her despite there being a passage created for them by security personnel.
"He misbehaved with me in a loud voice and his physical proximity to me was so close that I being a lady member felt extremely uncomfortable. I stepped aside with heavy heart and renouncing my democratic rights but felt that no member of Parliament should behave this way (sic)," she alleged.
"I belong to the ST community and I am a lady member. My dignity and self-esteem have been deeply hurt by LoP Shri Rahul Gandhi ji. Therefore, Hon'ble Chairman sir, I seek your protection," she also wrote to the RS Chairman.
Addresing a press conference at BJP headquarters, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the party was pained at the treatment meted out to its tribal MP.
“Will physical strength be used in Parliament? Will musclemen and goondas come to Parliament? In which direction is the Congress taking the country’s democracy?” said the BJP leader, who was flanked by Union Minister Piyush Goyal and party MPs Anurag Thakur and Anil Baluni.
"Rahul Gandhi does not deserve to hold the post of the Leader of Opposition," Chouhan said as he slammed the Congress leader's behaviour and alleged it is against India’s cultural ethos.
Member of Rajya Sabha and women ST leader from Nagaland @SPhangnon Ji has charged LoP of LokSabha Rahul Gandhi ji for deeply hurting her dignity and self-esteem. pic.twitter.com/ha8xYovjP5
— Aditya Trivedi (@AdityaTrivedi_) December 19, 2024
