'Display of BJP's casteist, anti-Dalit mindset': Mamata slams Shah over BR Ambedkar remarks

Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday strongly condemned Union Home minister (HM) Amit Shah’s “derogatory” remark against BR Ambedkar describing it as “an insult to the millions who look up to Babasaheb for guidance and inspiration”.

During his speech in the Rajya Sabha, Amit Shah, on Wednesday, lashed out at the Congress and said that it had become a ‘fashion’ for the party to take Ambedkar’s name.

“The mask has fallen! As Parliament reflects on 75 glorious years of the Constitution, HM @AmitShah chose to TARNISH this occasion with DEROGATORY remarks against Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, that too in the temple of Democracy,” Chief Minister Banerjee in a post on X said.

Banerjee on her social media post further added: “This is a display of BJP’s CASTEIST and ANTI-DALIT mindset. If this is how they behave after being reduced to 240 seats, imagine the damage they would’ve inflicted if their dream of 400 seats had been realised. They’d have rewritten history to entirely erase Dr Ambedkar’s contributions.”

Launching a fresh attack on the BJP, Banerjee said nothing more can be expected from a party like BJP that has internalised ‘hate’ and ‘bigotry’. She also alleged that Shah’s remarks insulted millions of people and it was also an attack on other members of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution.

“HM Amit Shah’s remarks are an insult to the millions who look up to Babasaheb for guidance and inspiration. But what else can you expect from a party that has internalised HATE and BIGOTRY?” Banerjee asked.

“Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is the Father of the Constitution, this outrageous remark is not only an outright attack on him but all members of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution, which symbolised India’s unity in diversity with members from all castes, creeds, ethnicities, and religions,” Banerjee added further on her social media post.

During his speech in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Shah took a swipe at the Congress, saying, “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 got a place in heaven).”