Fact Check: Massive protest against Amit Shah for remark on Ambedkar? No, viral video is old
Claim: The video shows a massive protest against Amit Shah’s statement on Dr BR Ambedkar in Parliament.
Fact: The claim is false. The video was from February 2022 and shows a protest by Dalit groups in Bengaluru against a judge.
Hyderabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statements on Dr BR Ambedkar have caused quite a stir with the Opposition protesting for action to be taken against Amit Shah for the remarks.
Amid this, a video claiming to show a massive protest against Amit Shah has gone viral. The video shows a huge protest march on a flyover amid police security.
A Facebook user shared the video and wrote, “Amit Shah should apologize. The fire that has started in the country has now become a volcano, and this volcano is spreading all over the world. There are people who love Baba Saheb Ambedkar all over the world.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
Similar posts can be seen here, and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video shows a protest march by Dalit groups against a judge.
Using keyframes from the video, we conducted a reverse image search and found an article by The News Minute titled, ‘Ambedkar photo row: Massive protest by Dalit groups in Bengaluru against judge,’ published on February 20, 2022.
The photos from the article and the viral video are identical. Here is a comparison of the TNM photo and the viral video.
The article mentioned that the video is from a protest held in Bengaluru on February 19, 2022. Dalit groups demanded the suspension of a Karnataka district judge who objected to placing Dr Ambedkar’s portrait next to Mahatma Gandhi’s during Republic Day celebrations in Raichur. The massive rally, which clogged the Anand Rao Circle flyover, prompted Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to meet the protesters at Freedom Park.
Through a keyword search, we also found a longer video of the protest on YouTube, posted by SahilOnline TV News on February 20, 2022. The description confirmed it was a Dalit groups protest against the Raichur judge.
Additionally, Asianet News also published a video the same day, reporting heavy protests in Karnataka over the judge’s actions.
Therefore, we conclude that the viral video is not related to a protest against Amit Shah’s statement. It shows a protest from February 2022 by Dalit groups in Bengaluru demanding action against a judge.
(This story was originally published by newsmeter, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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Siddaramaiah, Yatnal trade barbs in Assembly over remarks on ‘skull cap-wearing voters’
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal engaged in a heated exchange in the Karnataka Assembly after Yatnal admitted his controversial remark that he did not seek votes from people wearing skull caps.
Siddaramaiah strongly countered Yatnal’s statement, warning that such comments would politically isolate him. “If you say so, you can never become Chief Minister, nor will you come to power. In the next election, you will be completely defeated. Our votes will never go with you because you are against Scheduled Castes, against backward classes, and against minorities,” the Chief Minister said.
The verbal duel continued as Yatnal taunted Siddaramaiah, reminding him that he was once expelled from the JD(S). “Whoever gets expelled, does he become Chief Minister?” Yatnal asked.
Siddaramaiah shot back, “It will be very happy if you become a Chief Minister, but from which party will you become the CM? You have been expelled from the BJP, you build your own party if you want to become Chief Minister.”
Yatnal responded that he was ready to launch a “non-adjustment political party,” claiming it would not harm the BJP but instead benefit it. Siddaramaiah quipped that he should indeed form such a party if Congress were to gain from it.
The argument escalated further with Yatnal declaring that this would be Siddaramaiah’s last term as Chief Minister. Siddaramaiah, however, dismissed his claims and retorted, “I will not become the Chief Minister. You should not become the next Chief Minister either. For that, form a new party.”
Yatnal insisted that if Siddaramaiah steps aside, Congress votes would shift to his side. To this, Siddaramaiah firmly said, “For no reason will our votes go with them because they are opponents of Scheduled Castes, opponents of backward classes, opponents of minorities.”
At one point, Yatnal told Speaker U.T. Khader that he, would float a party. Yatnal maintained, “We are only the opponents of the traitors of the country, not the opponents of SCs.”
Seizing the moment, Siddaramaiah pressed Yatnal again: “Who openly said that we don’t want the votes of those who wear skull caps?” Yatnal admitted without hesitation, “Yes, I was the one who said I don’t want votes. What is it? I have no fear.”
Siddaramaiah then warned that such politics would only ensure Yatnal never came to power. “You will not become the Chief Minister for any reason, you will not come to power next year, you will completely lose in the next election,” he said.
Yatnal countered, claiming that the BJP would win 130 seats and replace Congress. Siddaramaiah, however, asserted that the Congress would return to power in 2028. “It is 100% true. For whatever reason, whether it is BJP or JD(S), nobody else can come to power. Yatnal is now an expelled member of the BJP, an independent. He cannot come to power.”
During the debate, Siddaramaiah also spoke about instability within the JD(S). He recalled that when he was party president, the JD(S) had won 59 seats, but that number later fell drastically to just 18. He remarked that alliances, including with the BJP, might be the only way for the JD(S) to remain politically relevant.
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