Fact Check: Viral claim of Ambedkar’s picture on Parliament seats is false
It’s from Karnataka Assembly
Claim: Viral image shows Ambedkar’s picture on all the seats in the Parliament during a protest against Union minister Amit Shah.
Fact: The claim is false. The image is from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, not the Parliament.
New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah recently ignited controversy with his comment that chanting Dr BR Ambedkar’s name had become a ‘fashion’ for the Opposition. He suggested that if they invoked Lord Ram’s name as often as Ambedkar’s, they would attain heaven. Following this, an image began circulating on social media, claiming that pictures of Ambedkar had been placed on every seat in the Parliament as a form of protest against Shah's remarks.
A Facebook user shared the viral image with a caption, “This is the picture of BR Ambedkar, who was not allowed to sit inside the classroom in the school, who did not find a house in Vadodara. Now he is sitting on every seat in Parliament today.” Similarly, an X user too shared the image and wrote, “Big Breaking: Baba Sahab Ambedkar’s photo on each and every Opposition bench in Rajya Sabha. Jai Bheem.” The image was also circulated with similar claims across multiple social media pages.
An X user shared the image and wrote, “Big Breaking: Baba Sahab Ambedkar's photo on each & every Opposition bench in Rajya Sabha. Jai Bheem." (Archive)
Similar claims can be found here, here and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2, Archive 3)
Fact Check:
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The image was not taken in the Parliament but in the Karnataka Assembly.
A reverse image search directed us to reports by Hindustan Times, The News Minute and News Tak, published on December 19, featuring similar images. According to these reports, Congress leaders placed photos of Dr BR Ambedkar on benches in the Karnataka Legislative Council on December 19, setting the stage for a stormy session. The move was a protest against Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent comments on Ambedkar, which Congress members claimed insulted the architect of the Indian Constitution.
The official X account of Karnataka Congress also shared the same images, stating that Karnataka Congress MLAs and ministers staged a protest at the State Legislative Assembly to condemn the remarks made by Amit Shah on Babasaheb Ambedkar.
ಬಾಬಾ ಸಾಹೇಬ್ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ಅಪಮಾನಿಸಿ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಗೃಹ ಸಚಿವ @AmitShah ನೀಡಿರುವ ಹೇಳಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಖಂಡಿಸಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಶಾಸಕರು, ಸಚಿವರು ಸುವರ್ಣಸೌಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಭಾವಚಿತ್ರ ಹಿಡಿದು ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ಬಳಿಕ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಅವರ ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ಸದಸ್ಯರ ಮುಂಭಾಗದ ಟೇಬಲ್ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಿಸಲಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಸದನದ… pic.twitter.com/chSGgyDnW8
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) December 19, 2024
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah also shared a similar image on his Instagram account. The post stated a protest was staged in the House with Ambedkar’s portrait placed in front of the ruling party members’ seats.
View this post on Instagram
Therefore, we conclude that the viral claim that Ambedkar’s picture was placed on all Parliament seats is false.
(This story was originally published by newsmeter.in, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
