Congress politicians on Wednesday claimed that several of their party’s leaders received notices from social media website X, creating a new political controversy. The notices were purportedly related to video clips from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, which the Congress had circulated on its social media handles. Controversy started after Congress accused the BJP of circulating an edited version of a video of the speech made by Shah, relating to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha.
Reports claimed the notices were issued to Congress-affiliated accounts at the behest of the Union Home Ministry. The notice came in the wake of Congress’s accusations that Shah had insulted Ambedkar, the principal architect of India’s Constitution. BJP quickly launched a counter-offensive, even involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi to refute the Congress party’s allegations.
Allegations Of Insulting Ambedkar
It began in a controversy on Tuesday, after Congress shared a video clip of Amit Shah’s speech in the Rajya Sabha. In the clipping, Shah can be heard saying, “It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. If they had taken God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven in all seven lives.” The Congress party rushed to seize upon this utterance, blaming Shah of insulting Ambedkar and diminishing his contribution to Indian history.
In Parliament, HM @AmitShah Ji exposed the Congress’ dark history of insulting Dr. Ambedkar and ignoring the SC/ST Communities. They are clearly stung and stunned by the facts he presented, which is why they are now indulging in theatrics! Sadly, for them, people know the truth! pic.twitter.com/l2csoc0Bvd
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 18, 2024
The Congress party sternly questioned the BJP on what it labeled an exercise to diminish the value addition that Ambedkar has done to this nation. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi claimed the BJP of an effort to “sabotage Ambedkar’s contribution and the Constitution, foundational to democracy in India”. He appealed for an apology from the minister of home affairs Mr Amit Shah towards the government he called the BJP an outrageous assault to the legacy left by Dr Ambedkar.
BJP, Amit Shah React To Allegations
BJP promptly reacted to these allegations by stating that the video clip shared by Congress was manipulated to create a misleading narrative. Amit Shah himself responded, saying that the BJP would explore all legal avenues to challenge the spread of the altered video. Shah said, “The BJP will examine all legal options.”.
Whatever legal course of action can be pursued inside or outside Parliament, everything will be in the bag. He attacked Congress for what he said that it is using “the old tricks” to befool the public into believing distorted facts. Shah further stated that his party would never disrespect Ambedkar, calling the claims baseless.
Strong Flak By PM Modi Against Congress
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also had his say on the controversy, which was quite scathing towards Congress for what he termed “rotten ecosystem” and “malicious lies”. He said that the attempts by the opposition to change the course would not be able to do so as the home minister had opened up the dark history of insulting Ambedkar in front of everyone.
The incident has led to a ferocious political battle, with Congress claiming that the BJP is fomenting public sentiment against them and the BJP countering this with claims of misinformation and defamation. The legal notices issued by X have now brought in another level of complication to the issue by questioning the role of social media platforms in moderating political content.
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