NEW DELHI: Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday criticised Union home minister Amit Shah for insulting BR Ambedkar and the Indian Constitution during a recent session in the Rajya Sabha.
She claimed no government in the past had disrespected the Constitution or its architect in such a manner.
Speaking at the ‘Gandhi Bharat’ event in Belagavi, Karnataka, organised to mark the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi chairing the Congress session in 1924, Vadra alleged that the BJP was intent on weakening the Constitution and its institutions.
“Many governments have come and gone, including non-Congress governments, but no government had a minister who stood in Parliament and insulted Ambedkar,” she stated. Vadra argued that the BJP’s ideological roots in the RSS emboldened it to insult Ambedkar and his principles. She also claimed that RSS members had burned Ambedkar’s effigy in the past.
She said the BJP’s priorities were not the country or democracy, and accused the party of being “anti-Constitution” due to its ideological stance. “They are against the Constitution because their founder and ideology mocked the Constitution and the national flag, calling them foreign and inauspicious,” she said.
Vadra also reminded the audience of BJP’s controversial Constitution Review Committee, alleging that it was part of their agenda to undermine social justice, reservations, and the judiciary. She criticised BJP-led policies, including amendments to the SEBI Act, the weakening of the Lokpal Bill, and labour laws, as being detrimental to the people.
Highlighting atrocities against women in BJP-ruled states, she said the party protected criminals instead of victims. Vadra also accused the BJP of implementing laws that harmed farmers, referring to the protests against the now-repealed farm laws, which resulted in the deaths of 700 farmers.
In her speech, she told the audience, “In 2024, the people taught the BJP a lesson, which was good because it scared Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After that, when he went to Parliament, he bowed before the Constitution. You made him do this.”
Themed ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’, the event also focused on reinforcing Ambedkar’s legacy and criticising the BJP for what the Congress alleged were attempts to erode India’s democratic values.
