Union Home Minister Amit Shah hit back at the Congress amid the massive row over his comments on BR Ambedkar during the introduction of the “One Nation One Election” Bill in parliament. Mr Shah has already accused the Congress of twisting his remarks and at the BJP headquarters this evening, mocked the Congress, saying his resignation will not help the Grand Old Party.
“Mallikarjun Kharge is asking for my resignation,” Mr Shah told reporters in Delhi. “If he feels happy, then I’ll do that. But the Congress will stay where they are right now for at least 15 more years. My resignation won’t help,” he added.
Mr Shah’s remark that invoking the name of Ambedkar has become a “fashion” these days, has sparked a massive row with the Opposition launching a concerted attack amid the winter session of parliament.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Mr Shah by midnight if he truly respects Ambedkar.
“We demand that Amit Shah should apologize and if PM Modi has faith in Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar then he should be sacked by midnight… He has no right to remain in the cabinet, he should be sacked only then people will remain silent, otherwise, people will protest. People are ready to sacrifice their lives for Dr BR Ambedkar,” Mr Kharge had said.
PM Modi had led the BJP firefight with a series of tweets where he said the Congress and its “rotten ecosystem” were “gravely mistaken” if they thought “malicious lies” could hide their insult of BR Ambedkar.
Addressing the House during the debate to mark 75 years of the Constitution, Mr Shah said taking BR Ambedkar’s name had become a “fashion” now. “It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar’. If they took God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven,” he said.