Kolkata- West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the BJP on Wednesday, accusing the party of holding an "anti-Dalit mindset" following Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks about B.R. Ambedkar.

Banerjee, in a statement on Facebook, condemned Shah's comments, made during a Rajya Sabha session, calling them "derogatory" and an "insult" to Ambedkar's legacy. Mamata Banerjee criticized the BJP's "casteist and anti-Dalit mindset," claiming that Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B.R. Ambedkar were a display of this mindset.

"This is a display of BJP’s CASTEIST and ANTI-DALIT mindset," Banerjee stated. "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.”

The Chief Minister went on to defend Ambedkar, calling him the "Father of the Indian Constitution" and emphasizing his importance as a figure of inspiration for millions. She argued that Shah's attack was not just an insult to Ambedkar personally, but also to the entire Drafting Committee of the Constitution, which she highlighted as a symbol of India's diverse unity. Banerjee questioned, “But what else can you expect from a party that has internalised hate and Bigotry?”

Banerjee's statement comes amidst a larger political controversy surrounding Shah's remarks. Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a separate attack on the Congress party, accusing them of attempting to "obliterate" Ambedkar's legacy and disrespect Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. This statement was a direct response to Congress's demand for Shah's resignation over his alleged disrespect towards Ambedkar.

The opposition parties started attacking the BJP after Shah delivered a fiery speech in the Rajya Sabha slamming Congress for duality when it comes to Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Claiming that it had become a 'fashion' for the party to take Ambedkar's name, Shah said in the Rajya Sabha, "Now it has become a fashion - Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. If you would have taken god's name so many times, then you would have got heaven for seven births."