Chandigarh Councillors Clash: BJP, Congress Councillors Clash During Chandigarh Civic Body Meet as Row Over Ambedkar Heats Up

Chandigarh Councillors Clash: A violent scuffle broke out between Congress and BJP councillors during a General House meeting of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation on Tuesday. The altercation erupted over the ongoing controversy surrounding the remarks made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah about Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, further intensifying the political dispute.

The row began when nominated BJP councillor Anil Masih targeted Congress, accusing it of belittling Dr. Ambedkar’s legacy during Jawaharlal Nehru’s tenure as Prime Minister. Masih also brought up the National Herald case, referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s bail in the matter. This sparked a sharp verbal exchange among councillors, with Congress and AAP members calling for Amit Shah’s resignation in response to his controversial comments about Ambedkar during the recent Winter Parliament Session.

While Congress and AAP demanded accountability, BJP councillors fired back by saying that Congress is trying to undermine the work of Dr. Ambedkar for the nation. It was this clash that developed into chaos as councillors from both sides started arguing at each other, temporarily disrupting the proceedings.

Controversy over Ambedkar reignited: The comments made by Amit Shah in Parliament last week have reopened the controversy of Ambedkar, which has been taking the form of mass protests in almost all the districts of the country. Congress leader Udit Raj called BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad’s accusations against Congress of hypocrisy as a ‘typical BJP tactic’ and said that Congress would make the BJP say “lie and shift the blame.” This was said during an interaction with ANI.

#WATCH | Scuffle erupted between Congress and BJP councillors over the subject of Dr BR Ambedkar during the general house meeting of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation today

Nominated councillor Anil Masih had targeted Congress and stated that Rahul Gandhi is out on bail, citing… pic.twitter.com/iZmLidgbT0

— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2024

Meanwhile, the Congress party has threatened to continue its agitations against Shah’s statements and has announced demonstrations all over India. The uproar over this issue is expected to further escalate tensions between the two major political parties.

CISF denies lapses in December 19 Parliament scuffle

In another development, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) reacted very sternly to allegations of misconduct during the December 19 scuffle that took place near the Makar Dwar gate inside Parliament. The incident left BJP MPs Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput injured.

CISF Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Shrikant Kishore stated that there were no procedure failures as the force functioned according to the norms prescribed for such incidents during the clash. He said that there was no lapse of the CISF personnel during the incident and it brings an end to the speculations that have been circulating around security force’s handling of this incident.

This statement is in an effort to allay fears concerning the security arrangement at Parliament and to assure that CISF did not deviate from its established procedure.