BR Ambedkar's grandson takes aim at Amit Shah on remarks: ‘Same old mentality’

Dr BR Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar on Wednesday alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on the father of the Constitution reflected the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ‘same old mentality’.

According to him, the BJP ‘will continue to sulk’ as they aren't able to ‘fulfil their plans’ due to Dr Ambedkar.

"Before the BJP came into existence, its forerunners Jan Sangh and RSS had opposed Babasaheb while the Constitution was being adopted," Prakash Ambedkar, who heads Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

He said Shah's statement has brought the same old mentality of the BJP to the fore.

"There is nothing new in the statement. They are not able to execute their old plans. Not because of Congress, but because of Babasaheb Ambedkar and they will continue to sulk," Prakash Ambedkar added.

He said Shah's remarks imply that one should revere God and not B R Ambedkar because revering the father of the Constitution means accepting the freedom of speech.

"Revering God is as good as accepting 'manuwad'," he said.

Several MPs of the INDIA bloc staged a protest in Parliament premises Against Amit Shah's remarks which they claimed were an insult to B R Ambedkar.

Congress general secretary-in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh had shared a video snippet on X from Shah's speech in Rajya Sabha.

"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)," Shah had said, taking a swipe at the opposition in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The Congress also demanded that Shah apologise publicly and in Parliament.

Prakash Ambedkar’s stance on One Nation One Election bills

Prakash Ambedkar has opposed the One Nation One Election plan, saying that the passage of bills to introduce the mechanism for simultaneous polls in Lok Sabha would mean the end of political parties.

"The Congress has only five to six days to take a concrete stand on the bills. The failure to take a stand and the passage of the bills means the end of political parties. Sharad Pawar led NCP's stand will be crucial," Prakash Ambedkar added.

He alleged that the passage of the bill for synchronised polls will pave the way for dictatorship and dismantling the basic structure of parliamentary democracy.