Ambedkar remarks row: Hearing in case against Amit Shah on March 1

Sultanpur (UP): The hearing on a complaint filed in a court here against Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his alleged objectionable remarks on B R Ambedkar in Rajya Sabha has been fixed for March 1 as the statement of the second witness could not be recorded on Wednesday. Replying to a debate on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution in Rajya Sabha on December 17 last year, Shah criticised the Congress for repeatedly taking Ambedkar's name and said if they took God's name so many times they could have earned a place in heaven.

The petitioner, Ram Khelawan, has said in his plea that Shah made the remarks about a person regarded as God by millions of poor and his statements deeply hurt their sentiments, including his own.

Advocate Jai Prakash, representing Khelawan, said due to the heavy workload in the court, the statement of the witness could not be recorded in this case and fixed March 1 as the next date for recording it.


The statement of the second witness was to be recorded on February 7 but the hearing was postponed due to the lawyers' strike.

The statement of the first witness was recorded on January 23.

On January 23, witness Suman Devi recorded her statement in the case before Special MP-MLA Court Judge Shubham Verma.

The opposition had attacked and condemned Shah for the statement, saying it was an insult to Ambedkar.