BR Ambedkar remarks row: TMC moves privilege notice against Amit Shah

Senior TMC MP Derek O'Brien moved the notice against the Union Home Minister under Rule 187, media reports said.

The Parliament witnessed turmoil after several Opposition MPs staged protests against Shah for his remarks against Ambedkar.

In a scathing attack against Shah, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who is the chief of the TMC, posted on X: "The mask has fallen!"

"As Parliament reflects on 75 glorious years of the Constitution, HM @AmitShah chose to TARNISH this occasion with DEROGATORY remarks against Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, that too in the temple of Democracy," she said.

"This is a display of BJP’s CASTEIST and ANTI-DALIT mindset. If this is how they behave after being reduced to 240 seats, imagine the damage they would’ve inflicted if their dream of 400 seats had been realised. They’d have rewritten history to entirely erase Dr. Ambedkar’s contributions," she said.

Banerjee said Shah's remark was an insult to millions of people who perceive Ambedkar as their inspiration.

"But what else can you expect from a party that has internalised HATE and BIGOTRY? Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is the Father of the Constitution, this outrageous remark is not only an outright attack on him but all members of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution, which symbolised India’s unity in diversity with members from all castes, creeds, ethnicities, and religions," Banerjee said.

What did Amit Shah say?

The controversy erupted when Shah was replying to the Constitutional debate in Rajya Sabha and said it had become a 'fashion' for the Opposition to take Ambedkar's name.

The Congress has put up an X post where Shah was heard saying, "It has become a fashion to take the name of Ambedkar. If they (Congress) had taken the name of God that many times, they would have been in heaven for the next seven lives."

Posting the clip, the Congress said, "Amit Shah has said something very disgusting. This shows that the BJP and RSS leaders have a lot of hatred for Baba Saheb Ambedkar. The hatred is such that they are even irritated by his name.

Modi reacts

Indian PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday came out in support of Shah and lashed out at the Congress for allegedly spreading lies.

Modi posted on X: " 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 every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar and humiliate the SC/ST communities.