CM Siddaramaiah read out a statement in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly amid protests by ruling Congress members criticising Union Minister Amit Shah for his remarks against Dr. B.R. Ambedjar and counter-protest by the Opposition BJP.
| Photo Credit: Badiger P.K.
Taking serious exception to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s alleged derogatory remarks about Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday (December 19, 2024) said the father of the Indian Constitution was “not a regret as Amit Shah insinuated, but an eternal inspiration.”
An enduring legacy
Reading out a statement in the Assembly amid protests by ruling Congress members who were criticising Mr. Shah for his remarks and counter-protest by the Opposition BJP, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “As long as we live, and the sun and moon shine upon this earth, Dr. Ambedkar’s legacy will endure. The more BJP leaders belittle him, the stronger his influence becomes, guiding us toward progress.”
Mr. Shah, in his speech in the Rajya Sabha on December 17 had said it is now a “fashion” to keep repeating “Ambedkar, Ambedkar,” but if the Opposition had taken God’s name as often, they would have reached heaven.
“Let this government remember that without Dr. Ambedkar’s contributions, I would not have had the opportunity to serve as Chief Minister. Instead, I might have remained a shepherd in my village. Our senior leader, Mallikarjun Kharge, who now holds the prestigious position of AICC President, might have been a factory worker in Kalaburagi,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
“Dr. Ambedkar and the Constitution he gave us have elevated us and given us the privilege to serve the people. Let it not be forgotten that even Amit Shah, who now occupies the office of Union Home Minister, owes this position to the Constitution drafted by Dr. Ambedkar. Without it, he might have been engaged in some scrap business in his hometown,” the Chief Minister said.
He sarcastically said that he would congratulate Mr. Shah for having the courage to “openly reveal the BJP’s inner sentiments” and that of Sangh Parivar about Dr. Ambedkar and, perhaps for the first time in his life, stating a truth. “However, when the nation turned against the BJP and its leaders over this statement, as expected, he tried to twist his words and issued a clarification, claiming, ‘We respect Dr. Ambedkar.’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi even rushed to defend his close associate with an elaborate statement. This, too, was predictable,” the Chief Minister said.
No slip of tongue
Mr. Shah’s words, the Chief Minister said, was not a slip of the tongue. “The BJP’s and RSS’s primary reason for their dislike of Dr. Ambedkar lies in the Constitution he drafted. Before the written Constitution came into force, the Manusmriti, which institutionalised caste and gender discrimination, governed us. Dr. Ambedkar not only gave us the Constitution rooted in liberty, equality, and fraternity but also publicly burned the Manusmriti on December 25, 1927. Twenty-two years later, he introduced the new Constitution.”
He said that during Dr. Ambedkar’s lifetime, the RSS, the ideological parent of the BJP, opposed both Dr. Ambedkar and the Constitution he drafted. “On November 30, 1949, Dr. Ambedkar presented the Constitution to the nation. Merely four days later, the RSS’s mouthpiece Organiser criticised the Constitution in an editorial, claiming it lacked “Indianness” and glorifying the Manusmriti as a law deserving global respect,” he said.
Published – December 19, 2024 06:33 pm IST
