New Delhi:

Protest, counterprotests and brawls, and now a police case against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi – over Home Minister Amit Shah’s “Ambedkar is the fashion” remark – roiled Parliament Thursday, with the BJP and Congress trading allegations of each using force to prevent rivals from entering the building.

Two BJP MPs – Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput – were “seriously injured” by Rahul Gandhi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed, as the tense political stand-off rumbled on outside Makar Dawar, the Parliament’s main door. Mr Rijiju then tore into Mr Gandhi; “… how can he use force in Parliament? Under which law does he have the power to physically assault other MPs?”

And in a sarcastic quip aimed at Mr Gandhi – who holds a black belt in Aikido, a contemporary Japanese martial art – Mr Rijiju said, “Have you learnt karate, kung fu, to beat other MPs?”

“Parliament is not a wrestling arena,” he went on, declaring two of his colleagues had been injured and that he intends to visit them in hospital. Mr Rijiju also demanded an apology from Mr Gandhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, has reportedly spoken to Mr Sarangi and Mr Rajput.

“Pushed, Shoved Me”: Rahul Gandhi

Mr Gandhi, meanwhile, has responded strongly to Mr Sarangi’s claims. He told reporters it was, in fact, a group of BJP MPs who were blocking his entry into Parliament, and that they were pushing and shoving him and Congress boss Mallikarjun Kharge, and that prompted the clash.

“I was trying to go inside… but BJP MPs were trying to stop me; they pushed me away and threatened me. Yes (in response to a question about Mr Kharge) … that also happened. But we do not get affected by this jostling. This is Parliament and we have the right to go inside,” he said.

#WATCH | Delhi: MPs of INDIA Alliance climb the walls of Makar Dwar at the Parliament and protest with placards demanding an apology and resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on Babasaheb Ambedkar in Rajya Sabha. pic.twitter.com/Bd9UAEkMKX

— ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2024

Mr Gandhi also told reporters, “This (the shoving) might be on your camera.”

“Rahul Gandhi Pushed An MP”

The injured BJP MP, Mr Sarangi, said he fell and hurt his head after a third person (unidentified at this time) fell on him. Mr Sarangi said Mr Gandhi had pushed this person who then fell on him.

#WATCH | Delhi | BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi says, “Rahul Gandhi pushed an MP who fell on me after which I fell down…I was standing near the stairs when Rahul Gandhi came and pushed an MP who then fell on me…” pic.twitter.com/xhn2XOvYt4

— ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2024

“Rahul Gandhi pushed an MP who fell on me, after which I fell down…I was standing near the stairs when Rahul Gandhi came and pushed an MP who then fell on me…” he told reporters from a wheelchair and with a medical professional holding a bandage to the side of his head.

Visuals from outside Parliament then showed Mr Sarangi being taken to hospital in an ambulance.

All of this follows Mr Shah’s remarks about Dr BR Ambedkar.

Amit Shah’s “Ambedkar” Remark Row

On Monday, in concluding remarks on a two-day debate on the Constitution, Mr Shah quipped, “It has become the fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…’ If they (the opposition) took God’s name so many times, they will get a place in heaven.”

The remark triggered a furious pushback from the opposition, with the Congress and the Samajwadi Party leading the charge, and demanding Mr Shah apologise and resign his post. Meanwhile, the Trinamool and the Congress have moved privilege motions against Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha.

READ | Congress 2nd To Move Privilege Motion Against Amit Shah

Congress boss Mallikarjun Kharge has been particularly vocal, demanding that Prime Minister Modi, “If (he) has any respect for Babasaheb Ambedkar, he should drop Shah from the Cabinet.”

READ | “If PM Respects Ambedkar…”: Congress’ Kharge Targets Amit Shah

On Wednesday evening a combative Mr Shah – A combative Amit Shah – Prime Minister Modi’s No 2 and one of the most powerful figures in the BJP – seemed to take the unusual step of publicly defending his statement, declaring his rivals had “distorted facts” after being stung by “examples of how the Constitution was attacked and wounded by the Congress (when in power)”.

READ | “Congress Anti-Ambedkar, Twisted My Words”: Amit Shah Responds

He also refused to step down, saying, “Khargeji is asking for my resignation. If it will make him happy, I will.. but it won’t end his problems. He will have to sit in the same place (the opposition) for 15 years…”

PM’s Defence Of Amit Shah

And in an even more unusual move, one perhaps underlining the impact the opposition’s attack is having on the BJP – the Prime Minister and his members of his cabinet have come out in defence.

“If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” the PM said.

READ | PM Leads BJP Fightback As Opposition Ups Ante In Ambedkar Row

“People of India have seen, time and again, how one party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr Ambedkar…” he said on X.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday evening doubled down on his party’s attacks on Amit Shah – after his “… has become the fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…” remark in Parliament last night – calling them “condemnable” and slamming the ruling BJP for disrespecting for the Constitution.

Mr Kharge also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Amit Shah. “If PM has any respect for Babasaheb Ambedkar, he should drop Shah from the Cabinet. (But)… instead of telling Amit Shah (he) is wrong, PM is defending him. He insulted a Dalit hero. They do not believe in the Constitution.”

The Congress leader also called out the Prime Minister for his fierce, six-post on X defence of Amit Shah, his No 2, in which he lashed out at the “rotten (political) ecosystem” populated by his rivals.

“If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” the Prime Minister had said.

READ | PM Leads BJP Fightback As Opposition Ups Ante In Ambedkar Row

“People of India have seen, time and again, how one party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr Ambedkar…” he said on X.

“PM Modi made six tweets to defend Amit Shah. What was the need? If someone says (something) wrong about BR Ambedkar, he should be removed from the cabinet,” the Congress chief responded this evening, “But they are friends and are supporting each other’s sins…”

If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think their malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr. Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!

The people of India have seen time and again how one Party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 18, 2024

Mr Shah’s remarks about Dr Ambedkar – regarded as the architect of the Constitution – were delivered at the tail end of a four-day debate on the text, two each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha..

The debates were seen as a way to restore normality in a Parliament session roiled by a multiplicity of protests between the government and the opposition, with the attendant frequent disruptions.

The “Ambedkar is fashion…” statement came in Mr Shah’s concluding remarks in the Rajya Sabha debate; the Home Minister said sarcastically, “It has become the fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…’ If they (the opposition) took God’s name so many times, they will get a place in heaven.”

READ | “No Less Than God”: Opposition Slams Shah’s Ambedkar Remark

The quip provoked furious protests from the Congress and other opposition parties, with Mr Kharge saying the “insult” had again proven that the BJP and its ideological parent – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – were against the country’s best interests. Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and  Rahul Gandhi also issued scathing counterattacks, and demanded Mr Shah apologise.

Sharing pictures from a protest outside Parliament – in which the opposition was united, despite recent differences over strategy and questions over the Congress’ leadership of the INDIA bloc – Mr Gandhi said, “Babasaheb is the Constitution’s architect… a great man who gave direction to the country.”

READ | “Country Will Not Tolerate Insult Of Dr Ambedkar”: Rahul Gandhi

“The country will not tolerate his insult… the Home Minister should apologise!”

It isn’t just the Congress that is up in arms. The Samajwadi Party – which contests elections on its ‘PDA’ strategy, in which the ‘D’ stands for Dalits – said it showed “the BJP is nervous about the struggle…”

“Babasaheb Ambedkar is God to a lot of deprived sections of the society. He is worshipped in each house and village. The BJP is nervous about the struggle of the PDA and that is the reason such statements come from them from time to time…” Akhilesh Yadav said.

Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool has also rallied against Amit Shah and the BJP; hours earlier the party filed a privilege notice against the Home Minister; Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, who moved the notice, accused Mr Shah of insulting the Dalit leader.

READ | “Mask Falls”: Trinamool Moves Against Shah In Ambedkar Row

Ms Banerjee posted a separate post in which she called the remarks “a display of BJP’s casteist and anti-Dalit mindset” and “an insult to millions who look up to Ambedkar”.

Amidst all this, Mr Modi and Mr Shah met Mr Gandhi and Mr Kharge this afternoon. Sources said the meeting had no connection to the “Ambedkar is fashion” row, stating the four senior-most political leaders in the country were meeting to appoint the next National Human Rights Commission chief.

With input from agencies

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