Differences apart, the Opposition on Wednesday rallied around the controversy over Union home minister Amit Shah “insulting” B.R. Ambedkar, seeing his remarks in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday as evidence of the “Manuvaadi” mindset that has always been opposed to the Constitution.

It rekindled the Opposition narrative of the BJP wanting to upend the Constitution that had gained currency during the Lok Sabha election campaign, courtesy Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Abki baar, chaar sau paar (this time, 400-plus)” slogan. “Those who believe in the Manusmriti will definitely have problems with Ambedkar Ji,” posted the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday night, hours after Shah took potshots at the Congress in particular for chanting “Ambedkar, Ambedkar”.

By Wednesday evening, the Congress upped the ante with party president Mallikarjun Kharge demanding Shah’s removal from the Union cabinet by midnight. “If the Prime Minister has an iota of respect for Babasaheb Ambedkar, then he should dismiss Amit Shah before midnight.”

Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray went a step further and asked the JDU and the TDP — which are propping up the Modi government — and the breakaway groups of the Shiv Sena and the NCP in Maharashtra whether they are going to condone Shah’s statement. “Will the RSS and the BJP take any action? Will Ramdas Athawale (of the Republican Party of India) remain in the Union council of ministers which has Amit Shah? The BJP’s mask has fallen.”

Unfazed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attack on the Congress for raising the issue, Kharge pondered aloud at a news conference: “Instead of pulling up Shah, the Prime Minister is defending him. He has posted six tweets in his defence. What was the need for this?” Pointing out that the BJP’s ideological forefathers never accepted the Constitution, he said they wanted the laws of Manu to prevail instead.

Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee billed Shah’s remarks a display of the BJP’s “casteist” and “anti-Dalit” mindset. In a post on X, she said: “If this is how they behave after being reduced to 240 seats, imagine the damage they would’ve inflicted if their dream of 400 seats had been realised. They’d have rewritten history to entirely erase Dr Ambedkar’s contributions. Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks are an insult to the millions who look up to Babasaheb for guidance and inspiration. But what else can you expect from a party that has internalized HATE and BIGOTRY?”

Picking on Shah’s claim that it is better to chant God’s name rather than Ambedkar’s, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav pointed out that “Ambedkaris no less than God” for the multitudes of oppressed, deprived and marginalised across the country. “Babasaheb freed crores of people from hellish life and gave them salvation in this very life,” he said, averring that what Shah said was reflective of the RSS-BJP mindset.

“Babasaheb Ambedkarji is the ideal for crores of people of the country. By insulting Babasaheb, Amit Shah has hurt the sentiments of crores of people of the country,” former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP told the media.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah sent an open letter to Shah, caustically congratulating him for “openly and boldly expressing the BJP’s inner views on Dr BR Ambedkar before the nation”. Stating that Ambedkar is an eternal inspiration and not a “fashion” for the Congress, the chief minister added that had Ambedkar not been born, neither he nor Mallikarjun Kharge would have become chief minister and Congress president. Hedid not spare Modi and Shah either, underscoring that it was Babasaheb’s vision that “elevated us all”.

While the JMM said “Ambedkar is our pride”, the CPM put out a post on X saying “Amit Shah’s insensitive remarks insulting Babasaheb Ambedkar have once again revealed the casteist, Manuwadi mindset of the BJP-RSS”.

Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK leader M.K. Stalin said: “Those who care about the country, the people, and the security of the Constitution will only mention the name of the revolutionary Ambedkar! It must be mentioned.”