Kharge gives privilege notice against Shah, Congress claims govt has asked X to delete its Ambedkar tweets

Even as the ruling BJP mulled legal action against the Congress for selective editing of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallkarjun Kharge gave a notice of privilege in the Upper House against Shah.

Citing Shah’s December 17 speech in the Rajya Sabha and his remarks on BR Ambedkar, Kharge said the statements of Shah were insulting and amounted to breach of privilege.

The notice has been sent to Rajya Sabha Secretary-General PC Mody.

Parallel to this action inside Parliament, Congress fielded Chairperson of its Social Media and Digital Platform Cell Supriya Shrinate to claim that several party leaders, MPs, Congress official X handle including herself, had received an email from ‘X’, saying that the Government of India had asked it to delete Shah’s speech.

It is learnt that X had been asked by official agencies to remove the edited clips being shared by Congress leaders on social media, on the ground that these clips, which convey a “distorted message could undermine social harmony.”

Shrinate said ‘X’ has refused to delete the tweets in the spirit of freedom of speech.

She asked Shah, if he thinks there is nothing wrong in his speech, why has his ministry asked the ‘X’ to delete it.

“It was the original speech 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.”

Shah’s full statement in the Rajya Sabha was as follows: “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). Had they taken God’s name so many times, they would have attained heaven...We are happy that the Congress is taking Ambedkar’s name but the party should also speak about its real treatment of him. How BR Ambedkar had to resign from the first Cabinet over differences with the then Congress-led government’s policies on SCs, STs, Article 370...How the Congress government refused to build a memorial for Ambedkar. How appropriate is it to use for votes the name of the same person you (Congress) insulted throughout,” Shah said.

The Home Minister yesterday also said that while Congress stalwarts Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award on themselves, during their lifetimes, they did not award BR Ambedkar the honour.

Ambedkar was granted the Bharat Ratna by a non-Congress government backed by the BJP, Shah said.

Shah also cited an old Nehru letter where the first Prime Minister is arguing against a memorial for Ambedkar.

The letter Nehru wrote in response to the mayor of Bombay who sought a memorial for BR Ambedkar said, “It is not usual for governments to build memorials. Memorials are normally built with private initiative.”

Shah yesterday said, “The head of a family which built memorials for all its late members is saying it is not usual for governments to build a memorial. This is because the request was for an Ambedkar memorial which has finally been built by PM Narendra Modi.”