Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “defending” Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the Ambedkar controversy and accused his government of making all attempts to control Constitutional institutions.
Notably, while replying in a debate in the Rajya Sabha marking the 75th anniversary of the Constitution’s adoption, Shah, in an attack on the Congress on 17th December, said, “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.”
Addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting titled ‘Nav Satyagrah Baithak’ in Belagavi, Karnataka, in the presence of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and senior party leaders, including KC Venugopal, he said, “We heard a ‘grossly derogatory’ statement by the Home Minister about Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar during the discussion on the Constitution in the Parliament session. We condemned it and held demonstrations.”
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of defending Shah, he said, “The PM and the government are not ready to accept the mistake. Instead of offering an apology or seeking Amit Shah’s resignation, he supported the objectionable statement. The PM issued a statement in defence of the Home Minister. Moreover, a false case was registered against Rahul Gandhi. This reflects the attitude of today’s rulers towards the Constitution and its creator.”
“But we are not afraid of anyone, nor will we bow down. We will fight until our last breath for the ideology of Nehru-Gandhi and the honour of Babasaheb,” the Congress chief said.
Referring to the recent amendment made in the Conduct of Election Rules, he said, “Constitutional institutions are being controlled. If we look at the Election Commission of India (ECI), it appears that they have no respect for the Constitutional institutions, they want to capture everything. Therefore, we will have to fight this battle continuously.”
He asserted that people’s faith in the electoral process is gradually decreasing as questions are being raised on the “impartiality” of the Commission.
Accusing the government of failing to address farmers’ issues, the Congress chief said this has led to protests by farmers demanding their rights.
Emphasising the need to strengthen the party, he said, “Hard work alone is not enough, a time-bound concrete strategy and direction is necessary.”
“We have to counter the lies of our opponents with unity. We have to move forward with confidence and face challenges boldly. We will definitely succeed.”
The two-day Baithak, which kicked off on Thursday, is being organised by the party to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s presidency of Congress.
On the first day, the CWC discussed important issues facing the country, and an action plan of the party for the next year.