Ambedkar row: Photos from Karnataka Assembly falsely shared as oppn protest in RS

Amid a heated political debate over the Constitution and B R Ambedkar, purported pictures of his photos placed on the desks of opposition benches in the Rajya Sabha have recently been shared by several social media users. The posts claimed this was a protest against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar in the House.

However, a PTI Fact Check investigation found the claim to be false. The photos were actually from the Karnataka Assembly and not Parliament.

The posts emerged in the backdrop of the controversy sparked by Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution.

On December 19, an X user shared the post, saying, “Baba Sahab Ambedkar’s photo on each & every Opposition bench in Rajya Sabha. Jai Bheem.” The post quickly gained traction.

Using Google Lens, PTI Fact Check traced the images to reports by Hindustan Times, One India and The News Minute, all of which confirmed that the photos were from the Karnataka Assembly.

Further investigation revealed that a post shared on December 19 on the official X handle of the Karnataka Congress featured the same photos, stating that they depicted a protest by party MLAs and ministers at the Suvarna Soudha.

PTI Fact Check has conclusively debunked the claim, establishing that the photos were from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and not Parliament.