The CPI(M) and the Congress recently held a series of protests in Tripura demanding Union minister Amit Shah’s resignation over his controversial remarks on Dr BR Ambedkar in Rajya Sabha.
Hitting out at the Opposition CPI(M) and Congress over their ongoing protests in the wake of Union minister Amit Shah’s remarks on B R Ambedkar, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha Tuesday said both parties were trying to mislead the people in their attempt to malign the BJP’s image.
Speaking to reporters in Agartala, Saha said that the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were politicising the issue to hide their failures, while pointing out that the former never gave due respect to the architect of the Constitution.
Saha said the Congress, which was always anti-Ambedkar, never made a memorial for the statesman, unlike the BJP. “Dr Ambedkar was neglected during the Congress regime. After the BJP came to power, efforts were taken to honour him. The Opposition is trying to divert people’s attention to malign BJP’s image,” he added.
The CPI(M) and the Congress have recently carried out a series of protest rallies in Tripura demanding Union Home Minister Shah’s resignation and an apology for the controversial remark he made during the Winter Session of Rajya Sabha.
During a two-day debate in Rajya Sabha on the ‘Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India’, Amit Shah had criticised the Opposition and said, “There is a fashion these days — Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar… Had you chanted the name of God these many times, you would have been blessed with heaven in seven births.”
Saying that “we are happy that Ambedkar’s name is being taken”, Shah had also listed the Congress’s alleged “injustices” towards him.
The protest rallies in Tripura were organised as part of a nationwide agitation carried out by the Congress claiming that Shah’s remarks were disgraceful to Ambedkar. The CPI(M) has also held corresponding rallies in the state despite its differences with the Congress.
On December 19, ahead of Shah’s arrival in Tripura, the Congress held a protest in Agartala and burnt his effigy.
