FACT CHECK: Did ex-Gujarat CM remove red beacon after resignation?
A video of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani removing a red beacon from his car is viral on social media.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 17 Sep 2021 5:30 AM GMT
HYDERABAD: A video of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani removing a red beacon from his car is viral on social media.
"Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani taking off his red beacon himself," reads one caption.
"Vijay Rupani removed the red beacon from his car himself after leaving the chief minister's chair! Now you yourself can understand how the system has been hijacked and Rupani was a rubber stamp and not the chief minister (sic)," reads another.
FACT CHECK:
The claim is false. The video has nothing to do with Vijay Rupani's resignation.
NewsMeter noticed the logo of 'ABP Asmita' in the viral video. Using this as a hint, a keyword search was performed that led to a broadcast by 'ABP Asmita' on their official YouTube channel on 20 April 2017. It is titled, "CM Vijay Rupani Removes Red Beacon From his Car".
NewsMeter also found Rupani's tweet from 20 April 2017 where the same video was carried. It is captioned, "Respecting Modi Govt's historic decision of ending Lal Batti culture, removed Red Beacon from my car."
A report by The Times of India also carries similar visuals in 2017. The report said the state government had announced that it will remove red beacons according to the guidelines issued by the Centre as soon as possible.
The Hindustan Times reported that the government decided to ban red beacons atop cars of all ministers, politicians, and bureaucrats, ending a privilege that was seen as the ultimate status symbol. The ban did not exempt even the vehicles of the President, Prime Minister, and the Chief Justice of India.
Along with Vijay Rupani, many others had taken down their red beacons. Jagran carried ANI tweets of Chhattisgarh CM, Uttarakhand CM, Madhya Pradesh CM etc removing the beacons.
Evidently, an old video of the former Gujarat CM is being linked to his resignation. Thus, the claim is false.
