AAP ups ante on Ambedkar row, leaders protest in city

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday intensified its attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the recent controversial remarks made by Union home minister Amit Shah on B.R. Ambedkar, with party chief Arvind Kejriwal asking people to "oppose the BJP as it has disrespected Babasaheb Ambedkar".

- Alok K N Mishra

NEW DELHI:

The AAP also held protests in all 70 assembly constituencies over the issue.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal also wrote to Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandra Babu Naidu and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar - both members of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) - in this regard.

The BJP did not respond to HT's queries for a comment.

During a function organised outside Valmiki Mandir in New Delhi in the afternoon, Kejriwal said that people who love Ambedkar must reject the BJP.

"Two days ago, home minister Amit Shah made a statement in Parliament (on Ambedkar)...His tone and manner of saying these words were deeply offensive. It wasn't just the content that was hurtful but the tone, full of disdain, that reflected an inner hatred. Often, our tone reveals whether we are joking, mocking, or genuinely expressing sorrow. Amit Shah's tone clearly conveyed contempt for Babasaheb Ambedkar," Kejriwal said, vowing to oppose the BJP at every level for the "painful and deliberate disrespect" to the architect of the Constitution.

The party chief also administered oath to hundreds of people, mostly Dalits, to oppose the BJP, and asked them to further administer this oath to others. "I consider Babasaheb Ambedkar my idol, and I pledge to oppose BJP at every level," he said.