Chandigarh, Dec 18: Railway commuters faced inconvenience in Punjab on Wednesday after farmers squatted on rail tracks in support of their long-pending demands, including the legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

However, no untoward incident was reported in the state. The protest, at the call of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, was carried out at over 100 locations in the state, badly impacting the railway services.

Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher claimed that the three-hour “rail roko” call got a good response in the state.

The impact of the protest was more viable in Moga, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Batala, Qadian, Phillaur, Tanda, Dasuya, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Sunam towns.

Farmers of both outfits have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

While hearing a petition, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the court’s doors were “always open” to the demands and suggestions of protesting farmers, after they refused to engage with the Punjab government-formed committee.

The Punjab government told the apex court that despite several meetings with fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, the farmers had rejected interactions with the state’s high-powered committee.

Protesting farmers, whose bid to enter Haryana in support of their long-pending demands was foiled thrice, halted the trains to lodge their protest and press their demands.

The 70-year-old cancer patient Dallewal has been fasting at Khanauri, the border point between Punjab and Haryana, since November 26 in support of their demands that included loan waiver and reforms to improve conditions in the agricultural sector.

Nagpur, Dec 18: Taking strong umbrage over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comments on Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologise for the utterances or quit, here on Wednesday.

Thackeray, a former Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Chief Minister, played the tapes of Shah’s comments that have sparked a massive political row in Maharashtra and other parts of the country, especially among the Dalit communities.

Shah said that rather than chanting ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, if you invoke the name of God, you will get heaven in seven births’ – that has kicked up a storm among Dalits and Ambedkar followers.

Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Thackeray said that Shah would “not dare to say such a thing unless prodded by the BJP-RSS”, and demanded to know whether Prime Minister Modi and Maharashtra Ministers in the Union Cabinet were in concurrence with it.

“Maharashtra has given two great sons to the world, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Dr Ambedkar who gave us the Constitution. After ranting ‘Nehru, Nehru’ for years, they are attacking Dr Ambedkar. We will not tolerate any kind of insults to them,” fumed Thackeray.

He said that Modi-Shah must apologise to the nation or quit for the slight to Ambedkar that has shaken the poor and downtrodden masses, warning that they will not forgive the BJP.

Countering Shah, SS (UBT) Deputy Leader Sushma Andhare declared that Ambedkar is indeed a divine personality for millions who worship him daily for his services to the downtrodden, the deprived and the poorest sections of society.

Other MVA leaders like Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) General Secretary Dr Jitendra Awhad, Congress’ state President Nana F. Patole and Dr. Nitin Raut, SS (UBT)’s Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut, and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi President Prakash Ambedkar, also attacked the BJP and Shah for displaying their “utter contempt for Dr. Ambedkar and the Constitution”.

Thackeray contended that the BJP — which secured a brute majority in the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls — has continued to denigrate the icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule.

“A former governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had made objectionable remarks against the legendary Phule couple… The statue of the Chhatrapati (in Sindhudurg) crashed just eight months after it was inaugurated by the PM… And now Shah’s statement in the Parliament,” said Thackeray.

Lashing out at Shah, Thackeray pointedly asked Shah, “whether you will get Heaven by chanting ‘Modi, Modi’ daily”, adding that now the BJP’s attitude against the respected and venerated personalities ‘has crossed all tolerable limits’ in the past few years.

Bengaluru, Dec 18: Taking objection to the statements made by the Union Home Minister in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Karnataka Chief Minister on Wednesday stated that had B.R. Ambedkar not been born he (Siddaramaiah) might have been herding cattle in his village and Amit Shah would have been running a scrap business in his hometown.

In his open letter addressed to HM Amit Shah, CM Siddaramaiah stated, “Had Dr. Ambedkar not been born, I wouldn’t have had the privilege of becoming the Chief Minister today. I might have been herding cattle in my village.

“Our senior leader, Mallikarjun Kharge Ji, wouldn’t have risen to lead the AICC and he might have been working in a factory in Kalaburagi. We owe every step of our progress and dignity to Babasaheb and the Constitution he gave us.”

“Not just me, without Dr Ambedkar’s contributions, you (Amit Shah) too wouldn’t be the Home Minister today. Instead, you might have been running a scrap business in your hometown.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi, your colleague, might still be selling tea at a railway station. Babasaheb’s vision is what elevated us all. Even the Prime Minister might admit this, and so should you,” he underlined.

“First, let me congratulate you for finally speaking the truth by openly revealing the BJP’s real opinion about Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.

“Your statement in Parliament (18-12-2024) didn’t surprise us; we already knew your party’s true mindset. But now, the entire country has seen your lack of respect for the architect of the Indian Constitution.

“Standing in the very Parliament that runs under his Constitution and calling his memory a ‘habit’ shows your arrogance. Congratulations, Mr. Shah, for this shameless act,” the CM stated.

“Do not attempt to mislead the nation by saying, ‘I have immense respect for Babasaheb, and my words were twisted.’ We are not gullible. Own up to your words and face the nation,” he charged.

“For us, Ambedkar is not a ‘fashion’ but an eternal inspiration. As long as we breathe, as long as the Sun and Moon shine on this Earth, Ambedkar’s legacy will endure.

“The more you try to diminish his memory, the stronger it will rise to guide us forward. While your sycophants might have clapped at your arrogance, remember this: Millions across this country, who have gained equality and dignity because of Babasaheb, are condemning you,” he maintained.

“Your hatred for Ambedkar is not new to those who know history. Why did your ideological parent, the RSS, reject the Constitution written by Babasaheb during his lifetime? Historical records document the statements of RSS leaders like Hedgewar, Golwalkar, and Savarkar against the Constitution.

“You may try to suppress these truths, but they cannot be erased. Your remarks in Parliament are just an extension of that long-standing RSS ideology,” CM Siddaramaiah alleged in his letter.