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Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday in reply to Union Minister Amit Shah's remarks in Parliament on Babasaheb Ambedkar said that the BJP was habituated to "chant" the name of the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to disguise their inabilities to tackle problems of inflation, unemployment and inequalities faced by the country.
The Congress leader further said that Amit Shah "gravely insulted" Ambedkar. Speaking to ANI, Jairam Ramesh pointed out, "To escape the present day challenges, they have to chant Nehru's name. If they don't, people will ask them what they are doing about inflation, unemployment, and inequalities" "Yesterday, the Home Minister gravely insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar. He said 'You people keep chanting Ambedkar, Ambedkar. It would have been better if you chanted the name of God.' If this isn't an insult to Dr Ambedkar, then what is? The truth is that the BJP, the Prime Minister, and the Home Minister repeatedly insult Ambedkar and blame the Congress party instead," Jairam Ramesh said The Congress leader also asserted that the first Constitutional Amendments in 1951 were brought to promote social reform. "This is about the first constitutional amendment in 1951, which introduced three new articles into the Constitution. The first was Article 15(4), which was added because the Supreme Court had struck down reservations. This provision ensured educational reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBCs. On July 3, 1950, Sardar Patel wrote a letter to Nehru, stating that "we'll have to sit down and consider constitutional amendments." To address this, Article 19(2) was introduced, which Dr Ambedkar himself advocated for in the Constituent Assembly. The third amendment was Article 31(B), introduced to address the Supreme Court's rejection of zamindari abolition, protecting farmers' rights through constitutional changes," Jairam Ramesh said. "These amendments weren't introduced on a whim but to promote social reform and safeguard farmers' rights. However, for them, lies are paramount. Their belief is not in "Satyamev Jayate" (Truth Alone Triumphs)," he added. Further Jairam Ramesh emphasized that Congress will never provide reservations based on religion. "The Congress party has never and will never provide reservations based on religion. Reservations can only be granted based on social and educational backwardness," he said. Reacting to the 'One Nation One Election Bill' presented in the Parliament on Tuesday, Jairam Ramesh said that achieving a majority for the government is impossible. "As for "One Nation, One Election," achieving a two-thirds majority is impossible for them. If they couldn't gather 272 votes when the bill was introduced, how will they achieve a two-thirds majority during the voting?" he said. Meanwhile, Congress MPs are set to meet today at the CPP (Congress Parliamentary Party) office at 10:30 am to discuss the strategy for the Floor of the House to raise the issue of Amit Shah's remark on Dr BR Ambedkar, in Parliament. (ANI)
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