NDA, INDIA bloc MPs hold protest marches in parliament premises over Ambedkar issue

Dressed in blue, a colour associated with B R Ambedkar, INDIA bloc MPs, including the Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest in the Parliament premises Thursday demanding Amit Shah's resignation for his remarks related to the chief architect of the Constitution.

BJP-led NDA parliamentarians also carried out a march within Parliament premises, raising slogans and carrying placards demanding an apology from the opposition Congress for allegedly insulting Ambedkar.

The protesting INDIA bloc parliamentarian came face to face with the ruling coalition MPs in front of the Makar Dar of Parliament as the two sides engaged in loud sloganeering in a bid to outdo each other.

The INDIA bloc members first staged a protest at B R Ambedkar's statue in Parliament premises, carrying posters that read 'Main Bhi Ambedkar', 'Jai Bhim' and 'Amit Shah maafi maango'.

They then took out a protest march on the Parliament premises. MPs of the Congress, DMK, RJD, SP, the Left and NCP(SP), among others, participated in the protest. Several opposition MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K Kanimozhi, were seen wearing blue.

Earlier, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha chaired a meeting of the Congress' Lok Sabha MPs in the main committee room.

The opposition on Wednesday seized on Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B R Ambedkar to corner the government and demanded his resignation for what they called was an insult to the architect of the Constitution.

The attack from virtually all opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC, DMK, RJD, Left parties and Shiv Sena-UBT, led to the adjournment of both Houses of Parliament and prompted the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to come out in stout defence of Shah.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien has also submitted a notice to move a privilege motion against Shah in the Rajya Sabha where the home minister had said on Tuesday evening that Congress leaders would have got a place in heaven had they chanted the name of God rather than following the fashion of repeating Ambedkar's name.

The hullabaloo in Parliament also spilled onto the streets of the national capital and places as far as Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. In Delhi, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal led hundreds of supporters to gather outside the BJP office and protest noisily amid slogans "Amit Shah maafi mango, Amit Shah sharm karo".

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, DMK chief M K Stalin, Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav were among those who have slammed Shah for his remarks.