Both Houses of the Parliament were today adjourned for the day following a ruckus by the Opposition making accusations against Union Home Minister Amit Shah of insulting Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. In the Lok Sabha, when the House reassembled after the adjournment at 2 PM, the presiding officer disallowed the adjournment notices moved by the opposition members over the various issues. Opposition party MPs were raising slogans against the remarks of Mr. Shah, demanding his apology. Heated arguments were witnessed between the Treasury and opposition bench MPs over the issue. Amid din, the presiding officer adjourned the House for the day.
Earlier, when the House met for the day, opposition parties, including Congress, DMK, and Left, raised slogans against the remarks of Mr. Shah. The opposition MPs trooped into the well of the House. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and other members of the Treasury objected to the conduct of the opposition. Mr. Meghwal alleged that Congress has always insulted Dr. Ambedkar. He also alleged that Congress was forced to give respect to Dr. Ambedkar due to political compulsion. Amid din, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House till 2 PM.
A similar issue also rocked the Rajya Sabha proceedings. When the House assembled after the adjournment at 2 PM, opposition MPs started sloganeering against the remarks of the Union Home Minister on Dr. Ambedkar. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju urged the protesting members to allow the House to function and take up the listed bills for discussions, but they continued to create a ruckus. Mr. Rijiju said, yesterday in his remarks yesterday, Mr. Shah elaborated on how the Congress insulted Baba Saheb in the past. He added that a small clip of Mr. Shah’s speech in the Rajya Sabha is being circulated, distorting his remarks. He accused Congress of disrespecting Dr. Ambedkar during his lifetime and hatching a conspiracy to defeat him in the Lok Sabha polls at that time.
Echoing the same view, Leader of the House J P Nadda said Congress is trying to mislead the House on the remarks made by Mr. Shah. He clarified that in his comments, Mr. Shah was speaking about how Congress disregarded Dr. Ambedkar. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge reiterated his allegation that Mr. Shah insulted Dr. Ambedkar. He accused the government of being against the SC and ST communities. Another Congress leader, Pramod Tiwari, also charged Mr. Shah with disrespecting the great leader through his comments. Amid pandemonium, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourned the House for the day.
In the morning, when the House met for the day, members from Congress, DMK, RJD, AAP, and others staged a protest over the remarks of the Union Home Minister. The Chairman said, Dr. Ambedkar is a highly respected figure, and he is exemplary to everyone. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Mr. Shah expressed utmost regard for Dr. Ambedkar during his yesterday’s speech. He also alleged that the Congress has used Baba Saheb’s name for its vote bank politics, which is condemnable. Mr. Rijiju the Congress party did not award him with the Bharat Ratna for so many years. Amid pandemonium, the chairman adjourned the House till 2 PM.
