BJP govt asked 'X' to delete Amit Shah's RS speech, claims Cong
New Delhi (PTI): Citing an email, the Congress on Thursday claimed that the BJP government has asked social media platform 'X' to remove the speech of Home Minister Amit Shah made in the Rajya Sabha, which it said "insulted" Babasaheb Ambedkar.
There was no official confirmation from either the BJP or X on the Congress' claims.
The party reiterated that Shah had committed an "unforgivable crime" for which the Home minister should apologise to the nation and resign.
Addressing a press conference here, Congress spokesperson and chairperson of the Social Media and Digital Platforms Supriya Shrinate claimed that Congress leaders, its MPs and the party's official handle, including herself, had received an email from the 'X', saying the government of India had asked it to delete Shah's speech shared by them.
She, however, added that the 'X' platform had refused to delete it in the spirit of freedom of speech. She said if Shah thinks there is nothing wrong in his speech, why has his ministry asked the 'X' to delete it.
Shrinate made it clear that what they had shared was the original speech of Shah and it was not edited or distorted.
Besides, she also showed the 34-page unedited text of his speech available on the Rajya Sabha website where in he clearly says, that "it has become a fashion to mention the name of Dr Ambedkar and if they (the opposition leaders) take the name of God those many times, they will get to heaven for seven births".
Claiming this was "insulting and disrespectful" to the architect of the Constitution, the Congress spokesperson said Shah revealed the same mindset of his ideological ancestors who always opposed Ambedkar and condemned him as "anti-Hindu".
Shrinate also condemned the BJP and its 'X' handlers for distorting a picture of the Congress leaders carrying the photographs of Ambedkar while protesting against Shah's insult of him.
She pointed out how on the BJP 'X' handle Ambedkar's picture was replaced with that of George Soros, whom the BJP calls "anti-national".
"How dare the BJP replace Dr Ambedkar's picture? This is the same ease with which they think they can replace India's Constitution," she asserted.
Reiterating her party's demand that Shah must apologise to the nation and tender his resignation, Shrinate said, the Congress will not be intimidated or cowed down with such arm twisting tactics by the BJP.
She alleged that BJP leaders like Shah and their official social media account are displaying the same disregard and hatred towards Ambedkar that their forefathers and the RSS have always had.
The opposition party's attack came over a social media post by the BJP in which it posted a photograph from the INDIA bloc MPs' protest in Parliament on Wednesday against Shah's remarks.
However, the images of Ambedkar that the MPs were holding during the protest were edited out and replaced with a picture of US billionaire George Soros. Also, the backdrop was changed with 'We Love Soros' written on it.
"Hello, Congress and INDI alliance. We fixed the image for you. You're welcome," the BJP said in its post.
The BJP has been on the offensive as it has claimed that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi had links with George Soros-backed outfits allegedly involved in anti-India activities.
Sharing the screenshot of the BJP's social media post and also the original photograph from the protest, Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said, "The BJP is brazen in its insult and ridicule of Dr Ambedkar."
"Instead of ensuring the home minister is removed from his post for the immense hurt caused to the crores of Babasaheb's followers by Amit Shah's statements, they are doubling down on the ridicule."
Is standing up for Ambedkar against the insult to him a matter of joke for the BJP? he posed.
"They are bringing in their rotten falsehoods even on a sensitive matter like Dr Ambedkar's legacy because they do not respect him and want to diminish his stature for their narrow political goals," Venugopal said in his post on X.
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Amit Shah would have been 'scrap dealer' if there wasn't Ambedkar's Constitution, claims CM
Belagavi (Karnataka) Dec 19: Stepping up the attack against Union Minister Amit Shah for his comments on B R Ambedkar in Parliament, senior Congress leader and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday claimed that Shah would have been a "Gujari" (scrap dealer) if there wasn't Ambedkar's Constitution.
The chief minister further said that if Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar was really functioning under the Constitution, he should have immediately suspended Shah from the House.
Reading out a detailed statement in the assembly amid din by both BJP and the Congress MLAs over the issue, Siddaramaiah said the entire country has heard the "derogatory" words spoken by the Home Minister about Babasaheb Ambedkar.
During a debate on the Constitution in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Shah said, "Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai - Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (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)."
Stating that there is nothing surprising in the words spoken by Shah, Siddaramaiah said what was in the minds of the BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders has come out in the open.
"First of all, I congratulate you (Amit Shah) for openly and courageously revealing the innermost opinion of the Bharatiya Janata Party about Babasaheb Ambedkar before the country and for finally telling the truth in your lifetime," he said.
He said that if there was no Constitution, Shah would have been a "scrap dealer" in his village and not the Home Minister of the country.
Shah on Wednesday accused the Congress of twisting facts and distorting his comments on B R Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha, asserting that its malicious campaign after the discussion on Constitution "established" the opposition party as being "anti-Ambedkar and anti-reservation". The Union minister also accused the Congress of adopting the tactic of "misrepresenting and distorting" statements.
Siddaramaiah also took a dig at Dhankhar for not taking action against Shah, saying if the Rajya Sabha Chairman was really functioning under the Constitution, he should have immediately suspended the Union minister from the House after his remarks.
The Karnataka chief minister alleged that the main reason behind BJP and Sangh Parivar's hatred for Ambedkar was the Constitution.
"Until this written Constitution came into force, the Indian society had the Manusmriti, which made caste and gender discrimination a law. Babasaheb Ambedkar, who hoped for freedom, equality and fraternity, not only gave the Constitution, but he also burned the unwritten Constitution Manusmriti that was in force until then," the CM said.
He noted that on December 25, 1927, Ambedkar publicly burned the Manusmriti and 22 years later, he created a new Constitution.
Siddaramaiah charged that the hatred of the BJP and the RSS for Ambedkar was not new.
According to him, the details of the statements made by RSS leaders, including its founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, his successor Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar and Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar against the Constitution are in the pages of history.
Babasaheb Ambedkar dedicated the Constitution to the country on November 30, 1949. Four days later, the RSS mouthpiece 'Organiser' wrote an editorial against the Constitution, he pointed out.
Siddaramaiah also read out a portion of the article: "There is no Indianness in the Constitution written by Ambedkar'¦. Even today, the laws mentioned in the Manusmriti are respected by the world. None of this counts for the Pandit who wrote the Constitution.''
"The RSS editorial had written against the Constitution, mocking Babasaheb as a ''Pandit''. The RSS is defending this editorial even today," the CM alleged.
"Golwalkar had also opposed Ambedkar and the Constitution in his book, 'Bunch of Thought', which is considered the Constitution of the RSS", he said.
Golwalkar wrote that after the Vedas, the most sacred book for the Hindu nation - Manusmriti, which has been the basis of our culture, traditions and customs since time immemorial, Siddaramaiah said.
Neither the BJP nor the RSS has so far rejected the "RSS editorial" that opposed the Constitution and Ambedkar, nor the views of Golwalkar and Savarkar, he said.
Siddaramaiah said Ambedkar was not an annoyance, but an eternal memory.
"As long as we breathe, as long as the Sun and Moon exist on this Earth, the memory of Ambedkar will be there. The more you insult him, the more he will bounce back and rise, and he will light up our path of progress," he underlined.
The CM also reiterated that if Ambedkar was not there, he and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge would not have occupied high positions. Instead, he would have had to stay in his village grazing cattle and sheep, he added.
The CM said it was on the expected lines that Shah blamed the opposition for twisting his statement.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi too came to the defense of his close friend and made a long statement. All this was expected," Siddaramaiah told the Assembly.
The Congress MLAs put out photos of Ambedkar on their tables, while the BJP displayed posters in the assembly, accusing Siddaramaiah of being anti-Hindu. Both sides raised slogans against each other.
The commotion led to the adjournment of the House twice by Speaker U T Khader.
