Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 18 : Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remark on BR Ambedkar, saying that the way BJP is "insulting" someone who gave the Constitution is not acceptable.
"How Amit Shah spoke in the Parliament yesterday, he displayed insolence. He said that taking Ambedkar's name has become fashion and that had they taken God's name as much they would have been in heaven. Who are you? Ambedkar ji is a personality not bound by any side...How BJP is insulting someone who gave us the Constitution is not acceptable to us," he said.
Thackeray also questioned the stand of the BJP allies, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) (JDU).
"Will BJP and RSS take action against Amit Shah? Or did they tell Amit to say this?... Is this acceptable to other parties that have extended support to Amit Shah, be it Chandrababu Naidu Nitish Kumar or Ajit Pawar? Will Ramdas Athawale continue to be in their cabinet even after this?" the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said.
"Will the Prime Minister take action against him or did the PM tell him to say that? RSS should make it clear if this was Amit Shah's personal view or if they told him to say that," he added.
Additionally, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over Amit Shah's remark on Ambedkar, saying "They are against Ambedkar ji and his ideology."
Rahul Gandhi further alleged that BJP wanted to "finish" the constitution, BR Ambedkar's work.
"This is against the Constitution. They were saying from the beginning that they would change the Constitution. They are against Ambedkar ji and his ideology. Their only work is to finish the Constitution and the work done by Ambedkar ji. The entire country knows this," Rahul Gandhi said.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday defended Amit Shah's remarks on Babasaheb Ambedkar and said that Shah exposed the Congress' dark history of insulting Ambedkar after which they were clearly stung and stunned by the facts he presented.
In a series of posts on X, PM Modi said that Congress sat in power for years but did nothing to empower the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities.
"In Parliament, Amit Shah Ji exposed the Congress' dark history of insulting Dr Ambedkar and ignoring the SC/ST Communities. They are clearly stung and stunned by the facts he presented, which is why they are now indulging in theatrics! Sadly, for them, people know the truth! Congress can try as they want but they can't deny that the worst massacres against SC/ST Communities have happened under their regimes. For years, they sat in power but did nothing substantive to empower the SC and ST communities," PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister listed the "Congress' sins" towards Babasaheb Ambedkar.
"The list of the Congress' sins towards Dr Ambedkar includes- Getting him defeated in elections not once but twice. Pandit Nehru campaigning against him and making his loss a prestige issue. Denying him a Bharat Ratna. Denying his portrait, a place of pride in Parliament's Central Hall," he said.