Firing a fresh salvo towards the Congress, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday claimed that except Nehru or Gandhi surname, no one is respected in the grand old party.
Sarma also put a question mark on how much actually Rahul Gandhi respects Babasaheb Ambedkar. He posted two photographs in his X handle and in one of the photos, Rahul Gandhi can be seen holding a photo of Ambedkar in his hand; however, in contrast, another photo shows a Congress party leader placing Ambedkar's portrait on the ground in the presence of Amethi MP.
The CM wrote, "Nobody is respected in the Gandhi family except a person with the Nehru/Gandhi surname. It is seen in this photo how much respect Rahul Gandhi gives Babasaheb Ambedkar. There is vast difference in what Congress teaches and what it practices.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah today held the Congress responsible for 'distorting and twisting' his Rajya Sabha speech for gaining political mileage over the raging controversy regarding his statement on Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP HQ, Amit Shah said that Congress is an anti-Ambedkar, anti-reservation, and anti-Constitution party and accused it of resorting to its old dirty ways of spreading false narratives over the Ambedkar controversy.
The Home Minister said that his remarks on B.R. Ambedkar, during the Constitution debate in Rajya Sabha, were distorted and twisted by the Congress party and also quoted past similar instances of 'fake news' during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Drawing a distinction in the way that BJP and Congress treat its national icons and heroes, HM Shah said never in his dreams he would disrespect the architect of the Constitution.
"I came from a party with such values that I will never insult or speak ill of Babasaheb, even in my dreams," he said.
Launching a fierce counter to the charges by Congress, Home Minister dug out the 'past misdeeds and disrespectful conduct' of the grand old party and said that it is the same party which bulldozed the Constitution by imposing Emergency, it is the same party which insulted brave jawans, questioned their valour.
Levelling a direct charge at the Congress, he said that it has the habit of resorting to its old dirty ways of indulging in spreading false narratives and smear campaigns and twisting facts for its advantage.
"In early 1950s, the Congress leaders began a campaign against BR Ambedkar to defeat him in elections," said Amit Shah while adding that Jawaharlal Nehru's hatred for Ambedkar was known too, as his books even contain evidence of dislike and repulsion for the Dalit icon.
He further mentioned that Ambedkar was not conferred with Bharat Ratna even decades after the country had attained independence.
"Congress PMs including Nehru and Indira Gandhi gave themselves the Bharat Ratna award. It was only when Congress was not in power that Babasaheb was honoured with the country's highest civilian award," he pointed out.
