New Delhi:

Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced a scholarship scheme for Dalit students amid the ongoing row over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on Babasaheb Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha. According to Mr Kejriwal, the scheme ‘Dr Ambedkar Samman Scholarship’ is a response to the BJP’s “insult” of Ambedkar.

Under the scheme, the AAP government will provide free education in foreign universities for all Dalit students from the national capital.

“Government employees from the Dalit community will be able to avail the benefit of the ‘Ambedkar Samman Scholarship’ scheme. They will be able to send their children to study abroad for free. The Delhi government will bear the entire cost of their education, travel, and accommodation,” Mr Kejriwal said.

However, it was not clear as to how and when the scholarships would be given.

“Union Home Minister Amit Shah insulted and made fun of Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar in Parliament. Crores of people who love Ambedkar were deeply pained…Ambedkar had said education was the way forward and secured a PhD from the US against all odds,” the former Delhi Chief Minister said.

Slamming the BJP, Mr Kejriwal said, “BJP people, you abuse Baba Saheb, I will respect him. My tribute to Baba Saheb.”

The announcement of the scheme also comes in the run-up to the assembly elections in Delhi due next year.

The BJP has hit back at Mr Kejriwal and said such a scheme has been there since 2020.

“The Delhi government has sent just five children to study abroad since 2020 that too at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. By giving Rs 25 lakh to just five children, you want to show yourself as a sevadaar. The way you have been lying and insulting Babasaheb Ambedkar, the people of Delhi are seeing it all,” said BJP leader Harish Khurana. 

Ambedkar row

A huge row erupted on Tuesday after Amit Shah, while responding to the Constitution debate in the Rajya Sabha, said it had become a “fashion” to take Amedkar’s name. “It has become the fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar… If they (the Opposition) took God’s name so many times, they would get a place in heaven,” he said.

Following this, the Opposition lashed out at Mr Shah, demanding his resignation. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Congress also moved privilege motions in the Parliament against Mr Shah.

Responding to the Opposition, Mr Shah accused the Congress of distorting facts and using clipped videos after being unable to defend itself against charges of attacking the Constitution and democracy in India. He also refused to resign, saying it would not “solve the Congress’ problems”.

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

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud is felicitated with the ‘Award for Global Leadership’, at Harvard Law School, in Massachusetts, USA.
| Photo Credit: PTI

However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those responsible for its functioning happen to be a “good lot,” Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud said while citing B. R. Ambedkar and hailing his idea of constitutionalism as being responsible for dismantling deeply entrenched caste hierarchy in India.

The CJI made the observations during his keynote address at the Sixth International Conference on the ‘Unfinished Legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’ at the Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, in the U.S. on October 22.

The CJI highlighted the idea of constitutionalism of Ambedkar, who headed the committee tasked to frame the Indian Constitution and said it was instrumental in transforming Indian society by dismantling deeply entrenched caste hierarchy and promoting social, economic and political empowerment of marginalised groups.

“Ambedkar’s legacy continues to shape the constitutional values of modern India, serving as a beacon for social reform and the pursuit of justice for all,” he said.

He cited Ambedkar, who had said however good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it happen to be a bad lot.

“However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it happen to be a good lot,” the CJI said quoting Ambedkar.

The CJI, who is in the USA, was also felicitated with the ‘Award for Global Leadership’ by the Center on the Legal Profession, Harvard Law School on Saturday.

The announcement about CJI Chandrachud being chosen as the recipient of the award was made on January 11, 2023 in an online ceremony.

He was present at the Harvard Law School on Saturday for a fireside chat with David Wilkins, Professor at Harvard Law School and Faculty Director, Center on the Legal Profession.