Fact Check: Kejriwal didn’t say Ambedkar was ‘drunk’ while drafting Constitution. Viral video clipped

In original video from 2012, Arvind Kejriwal talks about how Congress's constitution once said no party member will drink alcohol. There's no reference to Ambedkar or Indian Constitution.

Hyderabad: The legacy of Dr B.R. Ambedkar recently became a topic of heated debate after remarks by Home Minister Amit Shah stirred controversy. In this context, a video clip featuring Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal is viral on social media with the claim that Kejriwal insulted Dr Ambedkar saying that the latter was “drunk” while drafting the Constitution.

An X user shared the video with the caption, “B.R. Ambedkar was drunk while writing the Constitution: @ArvindKejriwal”. (Archive)

In the 9-second black-and-white video clip, Kejriwal can be seen saying in Hindi, “We were talking about how whoever wrote the constitution must have written it after drinking (alcohol).”

Similar posts can be seen here and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2)

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video was clipped to misrepresent Kejriwal’s complete statement.

Responding to the post with the viral video, AAP Rajasthan spokesperson Devender Yadav shared a video in the comments stating that it is the original version of Kejriwal’s speech.

In the 22-second colour video, Kejriwal can be heard saying, “I have read the constitutions of all (political) parties. The Congress constitution states that no Congress member will drink alcohol (sounds of laughter from the crowd). We were talking about how whoever wrote the constitution must have written it after drinking (alcohol).”

There is no reference to Dr Ambedkar or the Indian Constitution in the video.

Using the information gathered so far, we found a video published on the YouTube channel of the Aam Aadmi Party with the title ‘Arvind Kejriwal @ Rajghat’ dated 3 December, 2012.

According to its description, the video showed Arvind Kejriwal making a public speech at Rajghat on 25 November, 2012. In the video, at the 4:38-minute timestamp, Kejriwal can be heard making the same statement about the Congress’s constitution.

We also found a report titled, ‘Say Cheers! Congress axes ‘abstention from alcohol’ clause’, published in The New Indian Express on 26 February, 2023. According to the report, the Congress Party revised its constitution, removing the requirement for members to abstain from alcohol. Additionally, the party made wearing khadi a choice rather than a mandate. These changes were announced by party general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala during the AICC plenary in Raipur.

This story was originally published by NewsMeter as part of the Shakti Collective. Apart from the headline, excerpt and introduction, this story has not been edited by ThePrint staff.