Centre has directed X to delete videos of Amit Shah’s ‘Ambedkar’ remarks, says Congress

At a briefing on Thursday morning, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, “On Wednesday night, several Congress leaders, MPs, office-bearers, Opposition leaders and the Congress official handle on X got an email from X. The country is celebrating 75 years of the Constitution. In the discussion on that, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is insulting Dr Ambedkar. It is an unforgivable sin—what he has said—and the country is hoping for an apology from him and that he will be removed from his post. Instead of that happening, the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is busy trying to save him. When all this didn’t work, then he directed X that his (Shah) video is violating Indian laws and that his speech’s video should be removed from the platform. X has informed us that under freedom of speech, X will not remove it because there is no violation of any laws. We were informed for transparency’s sake.”

Shrinate asked Shah why he was directing X to remove the video.

Replying to the two-day debate in the Rajya Sabha on the ‘Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India’, Shah said on Tuesday, “Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai — Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar… Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete toh saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (There is a fashion these days — Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar… Had you chanted the name of God these many times, you would have been blessed with heaven in seven births).” He went on to add, “We are happy that Ambedkar’s name is being taken”, before listing the Congress’s “injustices” towards him.

Shrinate said what they had shared online was the original speech of Shah and that it was not edited or distorted. She also showed the 34-page unedited text of his speech available on the Rajya Sabha website.