Congress, Leaders Get X Notice For Sharing Amit Shah's 'Fashion' Remark Video

Congress leaders have reportedly received notices from social media platform X for sharing a video clip of Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Congress and multiple leaders of the party received notices from social media platform X on Wednesday regarding a video clip of Union Home Minister Amit Shah shared from their accounts, said spokesperson Supriya Shrinate. According to Congress sources, the notices were served under the directives of the Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said: "Last evening, a bunch of us from Congress, our party's official handle, including myself, received a mail from X, formerly Twitter. This mail clearly indicates that the Ministry of Home Affairs and the IT Dept have written to them to take down the video of Home Minister Amit Shah that we posted. It allegedly says that we violated certain laws. I fail to understand which laws were violated."

The directive reportedly states that the shared content violates Indian law and must be removed. However, there has been no official confirmation of the notices from either X or the MHA's Cyber Crime Coordination Centre. In its message to Congress, X emphasized its commitment to upholding users’ freedom of speech and expression on the platform.

Earlier, the BJP called it the Congress's propaganda. Sharing two videos, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said that the Congress was sharing cropped clips. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, said: "In Parliament, Home Minister  Amit Shah Ji exposed the Congress’ dark history of insulting Dr Ambedkar and ignoring the SC/ST Communities. They are clearly stung and stunned by the facts he presented, which is why they are now indulging in theatrics! Sadly, for them, people know the truth!"

The controversy stems from a video clip shared by some Congress MPs and leaders. The clip featured Shah's response during Tuesday's debate in Parliament on the Constitution's 75-year journey, in which he discussed B R Ambedkar and slammed the Opposition. Amit Shah, during the discussion on the 'One Nation, One Election' Bill on Tuesday had 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 mention Ambedkar all the time. If they had taken God's name so many times, they would have gotten a place in heaven]."

On Wednesday, Shah held a press conference at the BJP headquarters to clarify his position. He accused Congress leaders of misrepresenting his statements about Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha and claimed the party was engaging in a deliberate smear campaign. "The Congress is presenting the facts in a distorted manner and I condemn it... The Congress is anti-BR Ambedkar, it is against reservation and the Constitution. The Congress also insulted Veer Savarkar. By imposing an Emergency, they violated all Constitutional values," Shah said.

(With inputs from PTI.)