‘I’m from a party that can never insult Ambedkar’: Amit Shah slams Congress

Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday accused the Congress of “twisting” facts and his statement made in the Rajya Sabha to create an “illusion” that he insulted the country’s first law minister BR Ambedkar.

“My statement has been twisted in the Rajya Sabha. They created an illusion. Even earlier during the polls my statements have been twisted using AI. I’m from a party that can never insult Ambedkar,” he said addressing the media.

Denying the Congress’s charge that his statement made in the Upper House was an insult to Ambedkar, Shah said his statement is on the record of the House and should not be misconstrued.

Flanked by his cabinet colleagues, JP Nadda, Kiren Rijiju, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Piyush Goyal, Shah launched an attack on the Congress for being “against Ambedkar, reservation and the Constitution.” He also said the BJP will look into the possibility of exploring all legal provisions both inside and outside Parliament against the Congress for “twisting this statement.”

In a pointed attack against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Shah said, he should have not succumbed to pressure from the party to be part of the campaign. “Kharge is from the community that Ambedkar dedicated his life for, he should not have supported the Congress’ campaign and given in to Rahul Gandhi’s pressure,” he said.

The Opposition demanded Shah’s resignation and an apology for the statement and criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for coming to his defence. But Shah was assertive that his statement had been misinterpreted.

“The PM spoke in favour of the truth...,” he said.

Responding to Kharge’s comment that he should step down, Shah said, “...if it makes him happy, I can resign, but it will not solve his problem. For the next 15 years they will have to stay where they are.”