CHENNAI: Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan on Wednesday vehemently condemned the Congress party for allegedly manipulating Union Home Minister Amit Shah's speech about Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of India's Constitution.

Murugan accused the Congress party of deliberately distorting Shah's words to deceive the nation, and claimed the party has a history of disparaging Ambedkar and undermining the Constitution he drafted.

The Union Minister said that the Congress party had denied Ambedkar the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor, even after his demise.

"Instead, Congress leaders had bestowed the award upon themselves multiple times. It was only in 1990, when the BJP-backed Central Government was in power, that Ambedkar was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, " he said in a statement.

"In stark contrast, the Central Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been steadfastly glorifying Ambedkar's legacy for over a decade. The BJP has been tirelessly promoting Ambedkar's ideals and implementing the laws he enacted to promote social justice and equality, " he claimed.

Murugan further alleged that the Congress party has a penchant for misrepresenting facts and disparaging national leaders, even accusing the party of employing AI technology to edit and distort a speech of Amit Shah's during an election campaign.

"The Congress party's blatant attempts to distort the truth will not be tolerated by the people of India, " Murugan said.

"If this slanderous campaign continues, the Congress party will face outright rejection from the electorate, " he added.