Parliament Winter Session LIVE: Both Houses Adjourned For The Day Amid Ruckus Over Amit Shah's Comments On Ambedkar

Amid a ruckus in Parliament with the opposition demanding Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation and apology, the proceedings in both the houses were adjourned for the day and will resume at 11 am on December 19.

Parliamentary proceedings in Lok Sabha and rajya Sabha resumed amid protest by Opposition over Amit Shah's remarks on B R Ambedkar.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the country will not tolerate Babasaheb Ambedkar's insult and demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah should apologise for his remarks in the Rajya Sabha.

Several MPs of the INDIA bloc, including Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest in Parliament premises demanding Shah's apology for his remarks which they claimed were an insult to B R Ambedkar.

Sharing pictures from the protest, Gandhi said in a Facebook post in Hindi, "Baba Saheb is the architect of the Constitution, a great man who gave direction to the country. The country will not tolerate his insult or the insult to the Constitution framed by him. Home Minister should apologize!"

Reacting to the controversy over Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Ambedkar during his speech at the debate on the Constitution in Rajya Sabha, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi wrote on X, "One gets rights by taking the name of Ambedkar ji. Taking the name of Ambedkar ji is a symbol of human dignity. Ambedkar ji's name is a symbol of self-respect of crores of Dalits and deprived people."

Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Congress as he defended Union Home Minister Amit Shah's "fashion" remarks regarding B R Ambedkar in Rajya Sabha a day earlier.

PM Modi in a thread of posts on X (formerly Twitter) said Congress was "clearly stung and stunned" by the "facts" presented by Shah, which is why they are now "indulging in theatrics".

"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," Modi said. Read More.

Amid Opposition protest against Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday accused the Congress of insulting BR Ambedkar, not giving him Bharat Ratna and alleged they defeated him twice in polls as part of a conspiracy.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha, Rijiju highlighted that yesterday, Amit Shah clearly showed a sense of our reverence for Ambedkar in his speech. "He also said how Congress insulted Ambedkar ji when he was alive. The Congress party did not award him with Bharat Ratna for so many years and along with that, the Congress party insulted Baba Saheb and defeated him in 1952 in an election under a conspiracy. After that, in the by-election that took place in Vidarbha, Congress defeated Ambedkar. If Congress had not defeated him, Baba Saheb would have been a part of this Parliament even after 1952," Kiren Rijiju said.

Mentioning that he was a Buddhist in an apparent reference to Dr Ambedkar's association with the religion, Rijiju said PM Modi has made a Buddhist a minister after 71 years.'"I am a Buddhist and a person who follows the path shown by Baba Saheb. In this country, Baba Saheb resigned from the post of Law Minister in 1951. After 71 years, PM Narendra Modi made me, who is a Buddhist the Law Minister of the country. You did not remember this. These people are just pretending and I strongly protest against it," Rijiju said.

Reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's speech in Rajya Sabha during the Constitution debate on Tuesday, Rajya Sabha LoP and Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge said, "He has insulted Baba Saheb Ambedkar and the Constitution. His ideology of Manusmriti and RSS makes it clear that he does not want to respect Baba Saheb Ambedkar's Constitution. We condemn this and we demand his resignation. He should apologise to the people of the country...He should resign from his position..."

Several MPs of the INDIA bloc, including Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest in Parliament premises on Wednesday demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's apology for his remarks which they claimed were an insult to B R Ambedkar.

The MPs lined up in front of the steps of the Makar Dwar of Parliament carrying images of Ambedkar.

They raised slogans such as 'Jai Bhim', 'Sangh ka Vidhan nahi chalega' and 'Amit Shah maafi maango'.

MPs of the Congress, DMK, RJD, the Left, AAP, among others, participated in the protest.

The Congress on Tuesday alleged that Shah's remarks in the Rajya Sabha during a debate on the Constitution show that the BJP and the RSS leaders have a "lot of hatred" for Ambedkar and demanded an apology from him. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had said those who believe in Manusmriti will definitely be at odds with Ambedkar.

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Wednesday after opposition MPs protested against Union Home Minister Amit Shah's alleged insult of B R Ambedkar. Soon after the listed papers and reports were tabled and the House went ahead with the scheduled Zero Hour, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh rose and alleged Shah insulted Ambedkar.

Soon, several other Congress members were on their feet and started raising slogans like "'Amebedkar ka apaman nai sahega Hindustan' (India will not tolerate Amebedkar's insult)". Countering them, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said it was the Congress that insulted Ambedkar and did not honour him with a Bharat Ratna.

Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge raised a poster of Ambedkar. Following this, House Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm. The opposition MPs are demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's apology for his remarks on Tuesday which they claimed were an insult to B R Ambedkar.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, will meet the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) on Wednesday. The meeting will be held at 3 pm today at Parliament House Annexe and the committee will hear the views or suggestions of the board on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. Recently, the delegation from Darul Uloom Deoband has strongly opposed the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

According to sources, Maulana Arshad Madani, who spoke for nearly two hours during a meeting with the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on December 11, expressed serious concerns about the bill's implications. He warned, "If these amendments are implemented, the safety of Muslim places of worship will be at risk." According to sources, the delegation of Darul Uloom Deoband also presented a 22-point suggestion to the committee outlining the reasons for their rejection of the bill.

Rajya Sabha proceedings begin at 11 am on Wednesday.

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Wednesday as Congress members sought an apology from Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks which they claimed were an insult to B R Ambedkar.

As soon as the House met for the day, Congress members trooped into the Well displaying posters of Ambedkar and sought an apology from Shah for his remarks during a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal countered the Congress, saying the party has always insulted Ambedkar and ensured his defeat in Lok Sabha elections.

The minister also claimed that the Congress has now been forced to take the name of Ambedkar though the party does not respect him.

Speaker Om Birla asked the members to allow the Question Hour to continue but as the din continued, the proceedings went on for less than two minutes before being adjourned till 2 pm

The Congress on Tuesday alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks in the Rajya Sabha during a debate on the Constitution show that the BJP and the RSS leaders have a "lot of hatred" for B R Ambedkar and demanded an apology from him.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said those who believe in Manusmriti will be at odds with Ambedkar. Congress general secretary-in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a video snippet on X from Shah's speech in the upper house. Read More.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore has given an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss Union home minister Amit Shah's remarks regarding Dr BR Ambedkar