New Delhi : Amid the chaos in both houses of Parliament, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Wednesday accused Congress of sidelining Dr BR Ambedkar, saying they have brought his photograph and are taking his name in "compulsion."
"Congress has always sidelined BR Ambedkar, they have brought his photo and are taking his name in compulsion. They defeated him twice in elections. His name will be written in golden letters," Meghwal said in Lok Sabha.
The Union Minister was speaking in the Lok Sabha amid sloganeering by the opposition members in protest against remarks made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha regarding Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in Rajya Sabha said that the Home Minister paid his respects to Babasaheb yesterday. He accused Congress of insulting BR Ambedkar, not giving him the Bharat Ratna and alleged they defeated him twice in polls as part of a conspiracy.
"They played with the nation by defeating him," he said. This came after Amit Shah, in his address in the Rajya Sabha at the conclusion of a two-day discussion in Rajya Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution on Tuesday, lashed out at the Congress party and said that it had become a 'fashion' for the party to take Ambedkar's name.
The opposition also carried out protests at the Parliament premises today, holding Dr Ambedkar's photograph. As this happened, both houses of the Parliament - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - were adjourned till 2:00 PM today.
On Wednesday morning, Congress MP Manickam Tagore moved an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Dr BR Ambedkar in Rajya Sabha. In his adjournment motion notice, Tagore accused Amit Shah of "insulting" Dr BR Ambedkar's legacy and "hurting the sentiments of people."
Tagore called Amit Shah's statement "blasphemous" and an "attempt to undermine" Ambedkar's role in drafting the Constitution.