The Maharashtra Opposition on Thursday staged a noisy protest at the entrance of the Vidhan Bhavan here against Union Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly insulting Dr BR Ambedkar.
The Opposition legislators paid homage to BR Ambedkar at the Constitution Chowk and took out a morcha from there to Vidhan Bhavan where they raised slogans like “Jai Bhim, Jai Bhim” and “Ambedkar, Ambedkar.”
The Opposition was furious over HM Shah's remarks on Tuesday in Rajya Sabha that Congress leaders would have got a place in heaven had they chanted the name of God rather than following the “fashion of repeating Ambedkar’s name.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator, Aaditya Thackeray led a scathing attack against HM Shah saying that he has not only insulted BR Ambedkar but also the Constitution and the people of the country.
“Will Ramdas Athawale, N Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar remain with the BJP on this? They should make their stand clear. Will many legislators who claim themselves to be pro-Ambedkar, now resign?” he asked. He further said that these MahaYuti legislators should quit.
Aaditya claimed that HM Shah’s statement shows the BJP’s anger against the Constitution.
“BJP MLAs and Amit Shah will not tender an apology,” he said and added that there is a nationwide protest being organised against HM Shah’s statement.
Congress legislator Vishwajeet Kadam said that they would not tolerate an insult to BR Ambedkar.
Earlier, HM Shah had stated that his words were twisted while accusing the Congress of being anti-Ambedkar and anti-Constitution.
The Opposition on Thursday put up a show of strength in the premises of Vidhan Bhavan at a time when the MahaYuti legislators comprising Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were sitting for a group photograph.
The MahaYuti legislators countered by raising slogans like ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Ki Jai’, ‘Babasaheb Ambedkar Yana Pranam’.
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had criticised Amit Shah’s statement demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should either take action against the Home Minister or leave power.
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