New Delhi: The Congress will hold protest marches against Union Home Minister Amit Shah for “insulting” BR Ambedkar and observe a weeklong campaign on the issue, party leaders said on Saturday.
As part of the “Ambedkar Samman Saptah”, Congress workers and leaders will hold marches and press conferences to remember the legacy of B R Ambedkar, they said.
The Congress and the BJP are at loggerheads over Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar during a debate in Parliament.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said party MPs and leaders will hold press conferences at 150 locations across the country on December 22 and 23 and workers will take out protest marches across the country on December 24.
The Congress has also decided to hold a CWC meeting on December 26 in Belagavi, Karnataka to mark 100 years of the 1924 Indian National Congress session, presided over by Mahatma Gandhi. The party will then hold a rally in Belagavi on December 27.
“Our agitation demanding Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation will continue! We will fight to protect Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy against the Manusmriti worshippers,” Venugopal said in a post on X.
The INC will mark the upcoming week as Dr Ambedkar Samman Saptah, he said.
“On 24 December, all across the country, we will hold Babasaheb Ambedkar Samman Marches and submit a memorandum to the president of India through District Collectors demanding Amit Shah’s resignation.
“All INC workers will garland Babsaheb’s statue, hold his giant portrait at the front of the march and carry huge placards with our key demands,” the Congress leader said.
“On 26-27 December, we will hold an extended CWC session and a mega rally in Belagavi where we will reiterate our commitment to Dr. Ambedkar and his ideals. Jai Bhim! Jai Hind!” Venugopal said in his post.
Later addressing a press conference, All India Congress Media and Publicity department head Pawan Khera said, “The attack (against Ambedkar) came from none other than the home minister of India, the second most powerful man in this country, Mr. Amit Shah. He is unrepentant. The prime minister is unrepentant.”
“We have demanded his resignation and this demand will be reiterated in these 150 press conferences across the country,” Khera said.
Criticising their “continued defence” of Shah’s comments, Khera said it is a “blatant insult to Dr. Ambedkar’s legacy”.
On December 24, he said, in every district headquarter, there will be a Babasaheb Ambedkar Samman march that will be carried out by Congress leaders and workers.
“Again, we will reiterate our demand, we will give a memorandum through the collector to the President of India and we will be garlanding the statues of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Ji in every district headquarter,” he said.
He noted that to mark 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s presidency at the Belagavi Congress Session in 1924, the party will hold an extended CWC meeting on December 26, followed by a large rally on December 27 in Belagavi.
Khera emphasised that Mahatma Gandhi ji’s leadership transformed the freedom movement by introducing powerful ideas like ‘Swaraj’ and ‘Satyagraha,’ which became central to India’s independence struggle.
During a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Shah had 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 attained heaven for seven lifetimes).”
On Wednesday, Shah held a press conference in which he accused the Congress of twisting facts and distorting his comments in the Rajya Sabha.
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed constant protests from treasury benches and opposition members over the alleged insult of Ambedkar until both the houses were adjourned sine die on Friday.
