Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], December 22 : Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi on Sunday criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his "unacceptable" remarks on Dr BR Ambedkar, saying that he has to apologise.
She said that DMK has taken a very strong stand on his remarks and that party leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has already condemned them.
Speaking to reporters here, Kanimozhi said, "It is a duty of the Government to ensure that the Parliament functions. The government refused to allow us to discuss any of the issues, which the opposition wanted to discuss so obviously it is a responsibility and the onus is on the government so they cannot blame the opposition. If you had allowed us to discuss issues which we wanted to discuss then Parliament put a function very smooth."
"It is continuing nationally, definitely people are going to now Parliament is closed so we cannot. The political parties and people are protesting all over the nation. I'm sure it is going to continue is going to continue and DMK has taken a very strong stand and our Chief Minister and party leader Mr. Stalin has given a statement condemning what he said about Babasaheb Ambedkar. So it's not acceptable. He has to apologize," she said.
Earlier today, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai lashed out at Amit Shah over his "derogatory" remarks on Dr BR Ambedkar. He said that the Home Minister didn't even add "Ji" as a suffix for Ambedkar, accusing him of being against the "Constitution" and being "anti-Dalit."
Rai, further said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) don't want to walk on the path shown by Babasaheb Ambedkar.
"I saw the Parliament proceedings later on. The way Amit Shah used derogatory words...he did not even mention Ambedkar as 'ji' anywhere. He didn't even say 'Babasaheb'. He only said 'Ambedkar-Ambedkar'. This means that he does not have respect for Ambedkar ji in his heart...be it RSS or BJP, they don't want to walk on the path Ambedkar showed. He (Amit Shah) is against the Constitution and is anti-Dalit," Rai told ANI.
Following the remarks made by Shah, the Parliament witnessed parallel protests from both the Treasury and Opposition benches outside the parliament on Thursday morning, which led to a huge scuffle between the two sides with two BJP MPs, Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput sustaining injuries.
The ruling BJP MPs were protesting in the Parliament's premises against the Congress party for "insulting" Babasaheb Ambedkar. INDIA Bloc MPs led by Rahul Gandhi held a protest in the Parliament premises and demanded the resignation of Shah over his remarks on Ambedkar.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also alleged that he was pushed by BJP MPs while he was trying to enter Parliament in what turned out to be a face-off between Congress and BJP MPs during their protests.