Ambedkar controversy || A catalyst for opposition unity

The latest controversy erupted over Union Home Minister Mr Amit Shah’s alleged uncharitable comments against the father of the Constitution, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar in Rajya Sabha.  Sometimes such controversies take unexpected turns with a potential to spiral out of hand.

Mr Shah is a thoroughbred hardcore politician who has risen from the ranks. Aggression and courting controversies are central to his brand of politics. So, the question arises; was it a slip of the tongue or off-the-cuff remark? Or, part of a well thought out plan to derail the Opposition’s targeted anti-Adani tirade.

For the Congress-led opposition, for whose politics Dr Ambedkar is a pivot, it is certainly a godsend. Question arises, will Congress abandon the Adani issue around which Mr Gandhi has woven his political web to trap the BJP’s top leadership? Or the Congress and ally parties will use a double-edged weapon (issues related to Ambedkar and Adani) to hit at the Modi-dispensation.

Mr Shah’s ploy has certainly helped the ruling set-up side-track the Adani issue for the time being. At least it was clear from the manner in which the developments unfolded in and outside Parliament. But it is also a reality that Dr Ambedkar and related reservation policy being central to Congress and many other opposition parties’ politics, it is a deadly weapon in their armoury now, to target the ruling dispensation.

However, if true, this sidetracking of the Adani issue could come to Mr Shah and BJP at a greater cost. The erupting dispute over his controversial observations against Dr Ambedkar has a great potential to introduce a churn in the national politics and act as a catalyst to bring the warring partners of I.N.D.I.A combine closer. An index of this immediate reaction was the opposition parties coming together to put a spirited protest show in the precincts of Parliament House. The vital question arises whether this spirit will cross the four-walls of Parliament House complex to the streets of the country. Will the I.N.D.I.A bloc make a common cause to corner the BJP nationally?

The Congress, as is evident, is seeing a golden opportunity to carry forward and further strengthen its ‘save the Constitution’ campaign. Both Mr Kharge and Mr Gandhi, in their joint press conference, made it amply clear that the issue of “insulting” Baba sahab will be raked up through the nook and corners of the country.

The issue surrounding Dr Ambedkar should worry the BJP on certain counts. Firstly, it will have to fathom how its crucial allies such as Telugu Desam Party (TDP), led by Mr Chandrababu Naidu, and Janata Dal (U) headed by Bihar chief minister Mr Nitish Kumar will react to the situation given the fact that both these parties have their roots in social justice movements with SCs and STs forming a crucial part of their vote bank. Although, they have not immediately reacted to the developments, but it will be difficult for them remain silent spectators, more so for Mr Kumar as he will be facing assembly elections soon. The survival of Narendra Modi government rests on the crucial support of these two parties. It is with their support that the BJP-led ruling alliance could cross the magical majority mark of 272 seats in Lok Sabha.

The biggest danger which this Dr Ambedkar-centric controversy could pose, will be to the survival and stability of the BJP-led loosely-knit Mahayuti government in Maharashtra which, within the days of its formation, is facing serious problems. The fact that Maharashtra is the “Janam and Karam Bhoomi” of Dr Ambedkar, and that the SC and ST communities coupled with deep-rooted perennial social justice movements which the state has witnessed from time to time, play a crucial role in designing the state’s politics. It is bound to impact the political scenario in the state and hence putting a question mark on the existence of the Devendra Fadnavis government.

If the development has the potential to strengthen opposition unity, as is clear from the reaction of the leaders of various constituents of I.N.D.I.A bloc, it also has the strong possibility of unnerving some of the “active”, and “silent allies” of the BJP such as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The discomfiture of its supremo Ms Mayawati was clearly visible in the manner she was forced to break her silence and criticize the BJP in measured tone. Her statement was more an act of balancing, by sharply criticizing Congress and some other opposition parties, than vehemently cornering either Mr Shah or BJP.

Among the active and participating allies Apna Dal faction led by Ms Anupriya Patel and Republican Party of India (RPI) led by Mr Ramdas Athavale, both Union Ministers, must certainly be feeling uncomfortable with the developments. It is so because Apna Dal and RPI have a strong support base among OBCs and Dalits respectively. The fact that both regional parties belong to two politically significant states-Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra respectively, it must worry not only them but the BJP as well.

While most of the opposition parties joined the Congress to protest in Parliament, outside of it the sharp reactions given by their leaders reflect the mood prevailing in the opposition camp.

Mr Shah’s remarks unleashed a political firestorm. Its trigger effect was uniting opposition parties including the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had of late been keeping distance from the Congress-led alliance, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Left parties, and Shiv Sena-UBT in a scathing attack on the BJP. This is significant in the light of TMC supremo Ms Mamta Banerjee recently staking claim to the I.N.D.I.A combine leadership and with the ilks of RJD chief Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, NCP’s Mr Sharad Pawar and Sena (UBT) chief Mr Uddhav Thackeray supporting her claim. Even Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) boss Mr Arvind Kejriwal who backed Ms Banerjee and is contesting Delhi assembly election against Congress, lost no time in directing his party to join the opposition protest and himself led a demonstration outside BJP headquarters.

More significantly Dr Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, known to toe a pro-BJP line alleged, “Mr Shah’s remarks on the father of the Constitution reflected the BJP’s “same old mentality”.

Expectedly, Mr Shah, facing the danger in the face of joint opposition tirade, received strong support from Mr Modi. In a swift counteroffensive and coming to Shah’s defence, he accused the Congress of hypocrisy and historical negligence toward Dr Ambedkar’s contributions.

“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,” PM Modi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The political battle-lines seem to be getting drawn afresh with new challenge for the Modi dispensation.

a.anil.anand@gmail.com