Fact Check: Massive protest against Amit Shah for remark on Ambedkar? No, viral video is old
A viral video of a large protest march claims to show a massive demonstration against Amit Shah’s remarks on Dr BR Ambedkar in Parliament.
By M Ramesh Naik Published on 27 Dec 2024 7:07 PM IST
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.
