Fact Check: Did Rahul Gandhi promise Rs 1 lakh annually to social media junkies?

A video of Rahul Gandhi promising that the Congress-led government will transfer Rs 1 lakh annually (Rs 8,500 monthly) into the bank accounts of youth addicted to social media, is going viral on social media.

“Accounts of common youth who are doing the tedious job of watching Instagram and Facebook 24x7 will automatically get Rs 8,500 credited every month to their bank account...Takatak ... Takatak. #WealthRedistributionPlan,” wrote premium X account Megh Updates while sharing the video (Archive).

“Surf Instagram and Facebook. And give birth to 10-10 children. If Congress comes to power, it will make everyone millionaires by taking money from the pockets of the middle class and wealth creators.” wrote another premium X account while sharing the video (Archive).

Fact Check

NewsMeter the viral video is clipped and does not show the full context. In the longer version, we found Gandhi promising the “right to apprenticeship” to unemployed youths with diplomas and graduate degrees.

We checked the YouTube channel of Rahul Gandhi and found his address to a public meeting in Bhagalpur, Bihar live streamed on April 20. The viral video has been clipped out from the 12:40-minute to 12:55-minute timestamp.

From the 9:30-minute timestamp, Gandhi could be heard saying, “Narendra Modiji has made India the centre of unemployment. If you ask youths what they do? They say nothing and are busy on Facebook and Instagram for seven to eight hours. Why? Because Narendra Modi has spread unemployment everywhere in this country. Those who used to create jobs were finished by demonetization and the wrong GST. This is why employment can not be created in this country.”

Further, he talks about how kids of the rich enter the job market through an apprenticeship of a year but the unavailability of this facility for the unemployed youths. From the 11:00-minute timestamp, he talks about the scheme “First Assured Job” (Pehli Naukri Pakki). He adds, “Under this scheme, we will give all graduates and diploma holders the Right to Apprenticeship. This means our next government will guarantee the right to the first job to every youth in the country. Similar to how MNREGA gave the right to employment, we will give the same right to graduates for their first job.”

Gandhi further adds, “The right to the first job means that all graduates and diploma holders will receive a one-year apprenticeship, with Rs 1 lakh annually (Rs 8,500 per month) credited into their bank accounts. They will get trained and if they do well in their first year, they will get a permanent job. These apprenticeship jobs will be available in the private sector, public sector units, and government sectors. This way, crores of young people will receive training, and India will get a trained workforce. Our youth, who are now roaming around the streets and surfing Instagram and Facebook, will have Rs 1,00,000 per year (Rs 8,500 per month) sent directly to their bank accounts by our government.”

We also checked the Congress manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. According to it, the Congress party pledges to introduce a new Right to Apprenticeship Act, ensuring a one-year apprenticeship opportunity with either a private or a public sector company for every diploma holder or college graduate below the age of 25. These apprenticeships will come with an annual stipend of Rs 1 lakh. The program aims to equip youth with valuable skills, enhance their employability, and create full-time job prospects.

Hence, we conclude that the viral video is clipped and is being shared with missing context.