New Delhi: Calling Bhim Rao Ambedkar the “god of modern India”, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said those who love Babasaheb should reject BJP.
Addressing people at Valmiki Mandir in New Delhi, Kejriwal targeted BJP and Union home minister Amit Shah over his remarks on Ambedkar in Parliament on Tuesday. He said he would go to every home to make people take the pledge to oppose the saffron party. AAP also held protests in all 70 assembly constituencies on Thursday evening against Shah’s remarks and demanded his resignation.
“You have to choose between Babasaheb and BJP. Jo Babasaheb se kare pyaar, vo BJP ko kare inkaar,” Kejriwal said. “BJP disrespected Babasaheb Ambedkar in Parliament. I consider him my idol and I pledge to oppose BJP at every level. This pledge must be taken to every home,” he added.
Shah came under fire from the opposition parties over his remarks on Ambedkar in Rajya Sabha. “Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai—Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata,” the home minister said. He later held a press conference and justified his point.
Kejriwal said the words spoken by Shah were “painful and insulting” to Ambedkar. He alleged that the tone in which the home minister spoke showed his hatred for Babasaheb. “At first, I thought it must have come out of his mouth, but the next day even PM Narendra Modi also supported Shah. This shows that Shah said it in Parliament deliberately,” the former Delhi CM claimed.
Kejriwal said he was a “bhakt” (devotee) of Ambedkar and read a lot about him in jail. “He was declared the greatest scholar of the century by Columbia University,” the AAP convener said.
Senior AAP functionaries Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak and Kuldeep Kumar led demonstrations in various constituencies. Sisodia said the country would be governed by the Constitution, not the politics of hate. “Those who feel uncomfortable hearing Ambedkar’s name and ideas can leave this country,” he added.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the people of Delhi had started understanding the “pretenses” of Kejriwal very well. “Now, whether he lies at a temple or in a meeting, the people of Delhi will not fall for his deceptions,” he added.
