Multiple X community notes challenge Amit Shah’s “first right” remark

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark that PM Narendra Modi gave the “first right” over the country’s resources to the poor, Dalits, backward classes and tribals, has drawn a sharp Community Notes pushback on X, with several notes attacking the line as caste-coded and unconstitutional.

At least four notes are marked “currently rated helpful” and “shown on X”, meaning they are being displayed to users as added context. 

Views on two of the notes are running into over lakhs of views.

The central argument across the top notes is equality under the Constitution. 

One Hindi note cites Article 14 and says it must be clarified how welfare schemes are “balanced and inclusive” for all sections. 

It also flags “GC” explicitly, saying general category citizens are also citizens and should not face “step-motherly treatment”.

Another note, in English, alleges the government is “clearly violating” Articles 14 and 15. It calls Shah’s remark “appeasement of SC, ST & OBC community” to stay in power, and links to a legal reference.

A separate Hindi note accuses Shah and Modi of dividing people on caste lines and says they are mocking Article 14’s equality guarantee.

Beyond the notes already showing, the page also lists several drafts “needing more ratings” that are not shown on X. 

These include one that says the Constitution treats everyone as equal and calls any claim of a “first right” for a particular group a violation. 

Another tries to draw a parallel with the old “first right” controversy from the UPA era, arguing the framing is being recycled in reverse.

Shah’s remark was made at an official event in Gandhinagar, where he launched a CBDC-based Public Distribution System pilot pitched as a transparency and delivery reform. 

But on X, the political argument has shifted from welfare delivery to the language of “rights”, with community-note writers framing it as a hierarchy of entitlement across caste and category lines.