Fact Check: Old video of Baba Ramdev praising Rahul Gandhi linked to 2024 Lok Sabha elections

Hyderabad: A video of Baba Ramdev publicly praising Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been making rounds on social media.

Users sharing it claim the video is recent and attributed the praise to a changing political climate in the Opposition’s favour in the ensuing General Elections. In the video, Ramdev says Rahul Gandhi used to get little space in national media but now he is being discussed everywhere. He also praised Rahul's fitness and the Gandhi family’s association with yoga since Nehru.

Recently, the Supreme Court reprimanded Patanjali founder Ramdev and his associate Acharya Balkrishna concerning misleading advertisements. As a result, they were required to issue a public apology in prominent newspapers for the deceptive promotion of Patanjali’s medicinal products.

Taking a jibe at Ramdev’s open endorsement of the prime minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government, an X user shared the video (Archive) and wrote, “Sensing the situation, Baba has started to flip to the other side.”

“Rahul Gandhi’s hard work is paying off - Baba Ramdev. Baba Ramdev is praising the Gandhi family! How did this change of heart happen....?” wrote another X user who shared the video (Archive).

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the video is from 2022 and is being falsely linked to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

We ran a relevant keyword search and found the video (Archive) posted by BV Srinivas, the national president of Youth Congress on September 16, 2022. Taking a dig at Baba Ramdev, Srinivas had said that his ‘sins would still not be washed away.’

We also found the video published by Live Hindustan’s YouTube channel and its website on September 17, 2022, which stated that Baba Ramdev praised Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Amar Ujala reported the video on September 17, 2022, stating after seeing the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which had started from Kanyakumari, Baba Ramdev praised Rahul Gandhi.

Hence, we conclude that an old video of Baba Ramdev praising Rahul Gandhi is being shared as recent. The claim that Ramdev has changed his tone sensing the change in the political climate in the Opposition’s favour is misleading.