Fact Check: Rahul Gandhi’s video purportedly praising Modi’s Kashmir policy is clipped
The video is clipped and is being shared with a misleading context.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 6 Oct 2023 3:20 AM GMT
Screengrab of the X post.
Social media users are circulating a video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claiming that he praised Modi's government policy on Kashmir after he saw locals with the Indian flag.
Rahul Gandhi could be heard saying in the video, “In India's most terrorist-infested district, wherever you look, there is the Tricolor everywhere. Who raised the tricolor? We had only 125 travelers. It was the people of Kashmir who raised the Tricolor. Not just one person but thousands of people raised flags. The story is the same for the entire Kashmir. Anantnag, Pulwama – which are called terrorist-infested districts; in every district, on mountains, roads, in the front and back, you can see the Tricolor. In whose hands? In the hands of Kashmiri youths.”
The video is divided into frames. The first shows Rahul Gandhi speaking, while the second frame shows PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly watching him on his mobile phone.
Several X premium users shared the video with the caption, “Rahul Gandhi is also praising PM Modi's policies. He said that the tricolor is flying even in terrorism-affected areas.” (Translated from Hindi)
(Image Credit: X/@kharikhoti12)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the video is clipped and is being shared with a misleading context.
On performing a reverse image search of the video’s keyframe, we found the over 55-minute long speech of Rahul on his YouTube channel titled, “Congress' 85th Plenary Session.” The viral clip from this video is clipped from the 29:50 mark to the 30:53 mark.
However, after the 30:53 mark, we found Rahul Gandhi criticizing the approach of PM Modi and speaking highly of the Congress Party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which was led by him from Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir. He could be heard saying, “I heard the PM’s speech in Parliament. He said he unfurled the Indian Tricolor flag at Lal Chowk (Srinagar, Kashmir). I was listening, I thought, the Prime Minister of India didn't understand. Narendra Modi went with 15-20 BJP leaders and unfurled the Tricolor at Lal Chowk. Bharat Jodo Yatra led to the hosting of the tricolor by the lakhs of youths of Kashmir. The PM didn’t understand the difference. We instilled the love for Hindustan, the love for the Tricolor flag in the youths of Jammu and Kashmir. You snatched away the love for the tricolor flag from the youths of Jammu and Kashmir. That’s the difference between you and us.”
We also found this part of the video posted by the official X account of the Congress Party.
“The Prime Minister says he had also hoisted the tricolor at Lal Chowk. PM did not understand the difference. Narendra Modi ji went along with 15-20 people of BJP and hoisted the tricolor at Lal Chowk. Bharat Jodo Yatra led to the hosting of the tricolor by the lakhs of youths of Kashmir.”
Hence, we conclude that the viral video is clipped and is being shared with the missing context.
