Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 21: With the controversy erupted over the union home minister Amit Shah’s alleged derogatory remarks against the framer of the constitution Babasaheb Ambedkar reusing to die down, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has called for a nationwide protest on December 24 while the Congress has announced stepping up its protest campaign all over the country by holding media conferences and marches.
“We will fight to protect Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy against the Manusmriti worshippers! INC will mark the upcoming week as Dr Ambedkar Samman Saptah,” Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal announced in a post on X on Saturday. He said the Congress Members of Parliament, members of the party’s working committee, and senior party leaders would hold 150 press conferences in their constituencies and home districts on Sunday and Monday.
The BSP chief Mayawati also announced on Saturday the party’s decision to observe December 24 as the national protest day. In a series of posts on X, Mayawati said Mr Shah’s remarks have hurt the hearts of the people. “Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, the author of the original book in the form of the super-humanistic and welfare constitution for the self-respect and human rights of the Dalits, deprived and other neglected people of the country, is as revered as God. His disrespect by Amit Shah hurts the hearts of the people,” she said.
Similarly Mr Venugopal also said the Congress would organise “Babasaheb Ambedkar Sanman” marches on December 24. “On 24 December, all across the country, we will hold Babasaheb Ambedkar Samman Marches and submit a memorandum to President of India through District Collectors demanding Amit Shah’s resignation,” Mr Venugopal added.
The speed with which the party has reacted to Mr Shah’s remarks is unusual, but it is clearly aimed at reviving the political narrative that the BJP is out to end reservations in government jobs and educational institutions which the Congress used during the recent elections but flopped in the Haryana and Maharashtra state Assembly elections. This narrative, combined with the BJP’s call for 400 paar (beyond 400 seats), proved to be a potent weapon during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But it seemed to have run its course, as was evident during the recent Assembly elections, where the BJP scored impressive victories.
Mr Shah’s comment has provided an opening the Congress was looking for in order to revive its BJP-will-end reservations narrative. The text may have been Dr Ambedkar but the subtext is reservation. Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said Mr Shah’s comment reflected the “anti-reservation mindset.”
“They [BJP] were always saying that they would change the Constitution. They are against the Constitution, against Ambedkarji, his ideology. Their entire focus is to finish Ambedkarji’s contribution,” Mr Gandhi had said on Wednesday. In a less than 24 hours since Mr Shah made the remark in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Congress MPs carrying photos and portraits of Ambedkar were seeking an apology from him and demanding his resignation.
The BSP, however, bracketed the Congress with the BJP as the hater of Dalits. Asserting that her party was dedicated to Babasaheb Ambedkar who fought hard all his life for the Dalits / Bahujans to stand on their own feet, Ms Mayawati said, “Therefore, if Congress, BJP etc., cannot respect Baba Saheb from their heart, then they should not disrespect him either. The day SC, ST and OBC classes got legal rights in the Constitution due to Baba Saheb, they also got heaven for seven lives,” she added.
“People from all sections of society in the country are quite agitated, angry by the words spoken by Mr Amit Shah in the Parliament regarding such a great man. Ambedkarite BSP has demanded him to take back his statement and repent, which has not been implemented till now,” Mayawati said. “In such a situation, if the demand is not met, then BSP has talked about raising voice across the country. That is why now the party has decided to hold a nationwide movement on December 24 in support of this demand. On that day, a completely peaceful dharna demonstration will be held at all the district headquarters of the country,” she added.
Like the BSP, the Congress, the principal Opposition party also surely knew that the second most powerful Minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet will not resign over his off the cuff remark. But Mr Venugopal sent out directives that on December 18 State units should gherao Raj Bhavans — a symbol of the Centre in a State — across the country over the alleged insult to the architect of the Constitution.
After the successive losses in the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, the morale of the cadre has hit a low and the losses have also put a pause to the perception that the Congress is on a revival path. Against this backdrop, the party would draw some satisfaction that it compelled the Home Minister to clarify his comment through a press conference by the evening. “No matter what Amit Shah does, those 12 seconds will haunt him,” Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said on Friday.
Importantly, the protests and the face-off with NDA MPs in Parliament over the alleged insult to Ambedkar and, subsequently, BJP MPs getting a police complaint registered against Mr Gandhi for allegedly pushing two of their colleagues allowed members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to join ranks with the Congress.
The Trinamool Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), the Rashtriya Janata Dal, and the National Conference were among allies who defended Mr Gandhi. This would give the Congress some reprieves as not long ago, most of these constituents of the Opposition bloc were questioning the Congress’ claim to be the leader of the bloc.
The Ambedkar protest could also make some of the BJP allies uncomfortable. With Assembly election in Bihar scheduled next year, any narrative that seeks to question BJP’s “commitment” to reservation will hurt both the ruling party as well as its ally Janata Dal (United). The Telugu Desam Party and the Shiv Sena also can hardly ignore the political implications, if the Opposition can carry its narrative on reservation the same way it did in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Mr Shah on Wednesday had said in Rajya Sabha, “If they (Opposition) had taken the name of God so many times instead of Ambedkar, they would have got heaven for seven lives.” Within hours, Rahul Gandhi and other MPs from the INDIA alliance led protests in the Parliament complex, demanding an apology and resignation of the Union Home Minister for his remarks.
INDIA bloc MPs staged a protest in Parliament premises when violence broke out between the two sides, injuring two BJP MPs, Pratap Sarangi, and Mukesh Rajput. Both parties have alleged that their party members had been pushed around. Moreover, an FIR has been registered against Rahul Gandhi by Delhi police regarding the incident.
The Congress termed the BJP “anti-Ambedkar” and “anti-Constitution,” and said the ruling party was trying to “divert” attention from the fact that Home Minister “insulted” Dr Ambedkar and must apologise for his remarks and resign from his position. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi addressed a joint press conference at the Congress headquarters and said, “The BJP wants to divert attention from Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar and that is why they are raising other issues,” Mr Kharge said.
He said the Opposition had demanded his resignation on Wednesday, but Mr Shah was not even ready to accept that he made a mistake. Calling Mr Shah’s comments “factually incorrect” and “tragic,” Mr Kharge said, “First, he should probe the facts before making such statements. Then he can insult Nehru ji and Ambedkar ji. What he said about them is lies. Had I got the chance, I would have spoken in Parliament.” Mr Kharge said the Opposition expected Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dismiss him, but with that unlikely to happen, the Opposition decided to take the issue to the public by way of protest.