New Delhi:

TMC MP Saugata Roy said the opposition will continue their protest in Parliament tomorrow against the Union Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on Babasaheb Ambedkar.

“We will protest in Parliament tomorrow. We will continue the protest until Home Minister Amit Shah apologizes for his remarks on Dr BR Ambedkar…,” he told reporters here.

A massive political row has erupted over Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar during his speech in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Congress has accused Shah of being anti-Ambedkar and has demanded his resignation.

Earlier, Rajya Sabha LoP and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday criticised Shah’s remark on Babasaheb Ambedkar demanding an apology from Shah for his remarks during the Constitution debate in the Rajya Sabha.

While addressing a press conference in the national capital, Mr Kharge also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Mr Shah by midnight if he truly respects Ambedkar.

“We demand that Amit Shah should apologize and if PM Modi has faith in Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar then he should be sacked by midnight… He has no right to remain in the cabinet, he should be sacked only then people will remain silent, otherwise, people will protest. People are ready to sacrifice their lives for Dr BR Ambedkar,” he said.

Meanwhile, accusing the Congress of being “anti-BR Ambedkar, anti-reservation and anti-Constitution,” Mr Shah on Wednesday said the opposition party has been presenting facts about his speech in Rajya Sabha in a distorted way.

Addressing a press conference here, Amit Shah also attacked Congress over the Emergency and said the discussion in Parliament on 150 years of the Constitution “proved how the Congress opposed Baba Saheb Ambedkar.”

“Since yesterday, Congress has been presenting the facts in a distorted way and I condemn it… Congress is anti-BR Ambedkar, it is against reservation and the Constitution. Congress also insulted Veer Savarkar. By imposing an Emergency, they violated all Constitutional values,” he said.

“A discussion was held over the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. During this, we also held discussions over the country’s achievements in the last 75 years. It is obvious that parties and people will have different points of view on different issues. But discussion should always be held based on facts,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended Amit Shah’s remarks and said that the union minister exposed the Congress’ “dark history of insulting” Baba Saheb Ambedkar after “which they were clearly stung and stunned” by the facts he presented.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy expressed confidence ahead of the upcoming general elections and said that he will try his best to win for the fourth time after his candidature was announced from Dum Dum on Sunday.

TMC MP Saugata Roy said, “Every election is a challenge. We have to go to the people. I have won three times from here (Dum Dum) and will try my best to win for the fourth time.”

Abandoning the Mallikarjun Kharge-led INDIA bloc, Trinamool Congress on Sunday announced its candidates for all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal for the upcoming general elections.

Giving a message of TMC going solo in the Lok Sabha polls, party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee announced the list that included certain surprises from former cricketers Yusuf Pathan from Berhampore and Kirti Azad from the Bardhaman Durgapur Lok Sabha seat.

Sukanta Majumdar, the President of the West Bengal BJP, raised questions about TMC’s decision to field Yusuf Pathan and Kirti Azad.

“Just half an hour before the TMC’s list was announced, Abhishek Banerjee was making statements like BJP is anti-Bengal. Now, when the candidates are announced, it’s clear that TMC is bringing people from outside. I don’t know if Kirti Azad and Yusuf Pathan are Bengali, Yusuf Pathan is from Gujarat, and so is PM Modi, but for them, PM Modi is an outsider,” he said.

The list was announced by Abhishek Banerjee at Brigade Parade ground on Sunday.

Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest from Diamond Harbour.

Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from Lok Sabha in the Winter session last year has been given a ticket from Krishnanagar constituency.

Meanwhile, Mukut Mani Adhikari who recently quit the Bharatiya Janata Party has also been given a ticket from Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat.

Shatrughan Sinha is set to again contest from Asansol, a seat he had won earlier in 2022 bypoll.

TMC has fielded Jagadish C Basuniya from Cooch Behar, Prakash Chik Baraik from Alipurduar, Nirmal Ch Roy from Jalpaiguri, Gopal Lama from Darjeeling.

Krishna Kalyani has been fielded from Raiganj whereas Biplab Mitra and Prasun Banerjee will contest from Balurghat and Malda Uttar respectively.

On the announcement of the candidates, Trinamool Congress said that the ruling party in Bengal will stand with the common people as part of its committment.

“Under the leadership of Chairperson @MamataOfficial, we’re pleased to announce the names of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. We are steadfast in our commitment to stand by the common people against the deprivation of the Central Govt. When it comes to confronting the @BJP4India jomidars head-on and responding in the language they understand best, the Twin Flower is people’s only choice!,” TMC posted on X.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was also sharing the stage when the list was released, asserted that her party will contest elections in multiple states in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

“TMC will contest the election against BJP, Congress, and CPM in West Bengal. TMC will fight alone here in Bengal. TMC will also fight in Assam, Uttar Pradesh. For one seat, there has been a discussion with Samajwadi leader Akhilesh Yadav. We will also fight in Meghalaya,” she said.

The Trinamool Congress kicked off the campaign for the upcoming elections through its show of strength.

In the previous Lok Sabha polls, the TMC won 22 seats while the BJP sprung a major surprise, winning 18 seats.

The Congress won the remaining two seats. In 2019, the BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the grand-old party behind at 52 seats.

The Lok Sabha polls are expected to be held in April-May this year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)