Fact Check: Nirmal collectorate opening featuring KCR shared with communal spin
A longer video version of the inauguration of the Nirmal District Integrated Offices’ Complex shows prayers being performed by the Hindu, Muslim and Christian priests
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 13 Jun 2023 11:37 AM GMT
Screengrab of the video posted by the handle @NationFirst003.
Hyderabad: A video showing Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, an official, two Muslim clerics and several others is going viral. Those sharing the video claim it shows the inauguration of a collector’s office in Telangana by Muslim clerics with Islamic prayers.
A Twitter user shared the video with the caption, “Collector’s Office Inauguration ceremony by a Mulla in Telangana. I told you that Islamization has already begun in India. #HindusUnderAttack.” (Mulla is a term used for Muslim scholars.)
(Source: Twitter/@NationFirst003)
Some Facebook users have also shared the video claiming the same. (Click here and here to see the archived versions of the posts.)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. A longer video version of the inauguration of the Nirmal District Integrated Offices’ Complex shows prayers being performed by the Hindu, Muslim and Christian priests. On performing a reverse image search of the video’s keyframe, we found a video on June 4, 2023, published by a local news channel T News Telugu titled “CM KCR Honors Nirmal Collector | KCR Inaugurates Nirmal Integrated Collectorate.”
This video shows similar visuals of two Mulsim clerics reciting verses. However, it also shows two Christian priests in the prayer ceremony.
An extended version of the video was live-streamed on June 4, 2023, titled “KCR LIVE: Inauguration Of BRS Party Office And Collectorate Building.” on T News Telugu shows Hindu priests at around 28:00 minutes performing a havan, a Hindu ritual. In the subsequent frames, after 34:00 minutes, it also shows the same visuals of Muslim and Christian priests reciting verses.
We also found that the inauguration of the Nirmal District Integrated Offices’ Complex was live-streamed on the official YouTube Channel of Telangana CMO. This video also shows the participation of Hindu, Muslim and Christian priests during the inauguration.
The extended versions of the video show participation of religious leaders of all major religions. Hence, we conclude that the viral video is clipped and misleading.
