New Delhi: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday shared a post on X where Congress leader Sam Pitroda seemed to be questioning the role of former Minister of Law and Justice BR Ambedkar in shaping India's Constitution.
Pitroda's post highlighted a report titled "Who Contributed More to the Constitution and Its Preamble? Nehru, NOT Ambedkar," which was published earlier this year in January.
Through his X post, Rijiju said that Pitroda's statement reflects the Congress Party's view on the matter. However, Pitroda, in his post, stated, "'Babasaheb ka diya hua Samvidhan Dr Ambedkar is the Father of the Indian Constitution' is the biggest falsification of our country's modern history."
Earlier, the Union Minister had said, "There should be no difference between words and actions. Congress has always insulted Bodhisattva Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Ji. The Congress Party has no moral right to talk about the legacy of Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar."
Meanwhile, Rijiju on Wednesday condemned the ongoing opposition protests, accusing the Congress party of a "conspiracy against BR Ambedkar" and questioning their respect for the former Minister of Law and Justice of India. Rijiju also highlighted that he is the first Buddhist after Ambedkar to hold the position of Union Law Minister.
"Today, I am the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. Ministers Arjun Meghwal and L Murugan, all three of us, come from the same practice as Ambedkar. I am the first Buddhist to become Law Minister after 71 years. PM Modi ensured that I sit in Ambedkar's chair," Rijiju said.
The minister also accused Congress of manipulating and editing a clip of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's speech about BR Ambedkar. "Congress must tell us one thing they have done for Baba Saheb Ambedkar. We are making many memorials in his memory. Ambedkar has been venerable to us, and Congress should stop doing political drama," Rijiju said in a press conference. "The speech given by Home Minister Amit Shah yesterday was clipped out of context and then made viral by the opposition. I want to condemn them for doing this," the Union Minister added.
Talking about Congress's alleged disrespect toward Ambedkar, Rijiju said, "Congress has insulted Ambedkar so much that he had to resign from his post. He even wanted to come back to Parliament in later elections, but Congress started a conspiracy and defeated Ambedkar from Mumbai. Then, they did it again. So Ambedkar left politics and took up his dhamma in Nagpur, Deekshabhoomi."
Rijiju further stated, "Congress did not award Ambedkar the Bharat Ratna for many years. They insulted Babasaheb by defeating him in the 1952 elections under a conspiracy. After that, in the by-election that took place in Vidarbha, Congress defeated Ambedkar. If Congress had not defeated him, Baba Saheb would have been a part of this Parliament even after 1952."
Defending Amit Shah's remarks, Rijiju said the Home Minister's speech reflected reverence for Ambedkar. (ANI)