Mamata Banerjee insulted B R Ambedkar by paying tributes to him while wearing slippers: BJP's Shehzad Poonawalla

New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday accused former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of "insulting" B R Ambedkar after a video purportedly showed her paying floral tributes to him while wearing footwear.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla shared a short video clip on X, and said "insulting" Ambedkar has become the identity of the Trinamool Congress.

"Ambedkar ji's insult is Trinamool Congress's only identity. Trinamool Congress has insulted Ambedkar. The way in which, while paying floral tributes to Ambedkar ji, Mamata Banerjee did not even bother to remove her slippers. This shows the mindset of TMC, Mamata Banerjee and her family," he said.


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The BJP leader further alleged that the TMC has repeatedly acted against the ideals and principles associated with Ambedkar.

"They always insult Ambedkar ji. They have demanded Muslim reservation against Ambedkar ji's thought process. They have gone against constitutional rules. They have abused constitutional institutions like the judiciary and the Election Commission," Poonawalla claimed.

Linking the controversy with the BJP's broader criticism of the TMC, he accused the party of pursuing vote-bank politics at the cost of constitutional values.

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"They are the ones who have taken away OBC and SC reservation and given it to the Muslim community in the name of vote-bank politics. They are the ones who have backed Sharia above the Constitution. When the Waqf central law came, they opposed this law. This shows that they are anti-Ambedkar," he said.

Poonawalla also attacked other opposition parties, alleging that they too lack commitment to Ambedkar's ideals and constitutional values.

"Congress itself is anti-Ambedkar. All of these parties actually put vote-bank politics above everything else," he said.

The BJP spokesperson further alleged that the opposition has shown disrespect towards constitutional offices and leaders belonging to socially disadvantaged communities.

"They have insulted an ST president, Droupadi Murmu ji. They are the ones who insult an OBC prime minister. They don't have any consideration for SC, ST and OBC communities. They keep insulting Ambedkar ji time and time again," he said.