Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss the selection of the next Chairperson for the National Human Rights Commission, sources told NDTV Wednesday afternoon. Mr Gandhi and Mr Kharge are members – as Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament – of the committee that is led by the PM and which will oversee this critical appointment.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla were also present.
The meeting comes as a fractured and disrupted winter session of Parliament – marked by the introduction of the contentious ‘one nation, one election‘ bill and a stormy debate on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution – enters its final 72 hours; the session concludes December 20.
It also comes amid furious protests by the Congress and other opposition parties over comments made last evening by Mr Shah, in concluding remarks on the debate on the Constitution. The Home Minister ripped into the Congress for repeatedly invoking Dr Ambedkar’s name before and during the debate.
To invoke his name has become the “fashion”, Mr Shah remarked sarcastically, declaring, “Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (…if they took God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven).”
READ | “No Less Than God”: Opposition Slams Shah’s Ambedkar Remark
Mr Shah then said the Congress’ insistence on praising Dr Ambedkar, the architect of India’s Constitution, was at odds with the Dalit icon’s “disagreements” with the Nehru-led Congress government of the time. “Ambedkarji said several times he was not satisfied with the treatment of Scheduled Castes and Tribes,” Mr Shah claimed to vociferous jeers from the opposition.
The remarks drew scathing counterattacks from Mr Gandhi, who said, “Those following Manusmriti will naturally be troubled by Ambedkar”, and Mr Kharge, who said the “insult” had again proven the BJP and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, were against the country’s interests.
This morning, in a sign the ferocity of the opposition party’s protests had perhaps unsettled the government, the Prime Minister responded to the criticism of his No 2, telling the Congress it was “gravely mistaken” if they thought “malicious lies” could hide its insulting of Dr Ambedkar.
READ | PM Leads Firefight As Opposition Steps Up “Ambedkar” Attack
“People of India have seen, time and again, how one party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr Ambedkar and humiliate SC/ST communities,” he said.
If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think their malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr. Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!
The people of India have seen time and again how one Party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 18, 2024
Sharing a video of Mr Shah’s remarks, the PM said the Home Minister had “exposed the Congress’ dark history of insulting Dr Ambedkar…” “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,” he said.
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