Hardik Pandya says he has utmost respect for B R Ambedkar and has tweeted nothing derogatory
Cricketer Hardik Pandya is in trouble over a tweet on B R Ambedkar, the principal architect of the constitution, which was posted from a parody account. A court in Rajasthan's Jodhpur has directed the police to file a First Investigation Report against the cricketer, but a copy of the complaint shows that the comment was never posted from his verified Twitter handle. While Hardik Pandya's twitter handle is @hardikpandya7, the court order is based on a complaint that refers to the handle @sirhardik3777.
The following is the 24-year-old all-rounder's statement on the controversy that has landed in him legal trouble:
There have been multiple misleading reports and articles being circulated in the media today, wherein it is being alleged that I had posted a tweet which was derogatory and insulting to the late Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify that no such tweet and/or statement, whether on twitter or any other form of media, has been issued by me. The tweet in question was posted by a fake account using my name and display image. I use only my verified twitter handle to make official communications via twitter and the said tweet was posted by a spurious account, pretending to be me.
I have the utmost respect for Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Indian Constitution and the many communities that call India their home and I would not indulge in making any kind of statement which is derogatory and/or which insults the sentiments of any community. I use social media to interact with my fans and I believe that in this age of social media one must be vigilant of misinformation and act responsibly.
I will also be making the necessary submissions in the Hon'ble Court in order to establish that the said tweet cannot be attributed to me in any manner whatsoever and to further highlight the issue that the said tweet was posted by an imposter posing as me in order to tarnish my reputation, which is a menace faced by many well-known personalities across India today.