Fact Check: Video of Akhilesh Yadav climbing locked gate falsely shared as SP leader fleeing media
A video of Akhilesh Yadav scaling a locked gate to pay tribute to Jayprakash Narayanan is viral
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 5 Sep 2024 12:12 PM GMT
Claim: A video claims Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav climbed a fence to escape the media’s questioning.
Fact: The claim is false. The video shows Akhilesh climbing a locked gate to pay tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan.
Hyderabad: A video has gone viral on social media claiming that Akhilesh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party president and Lok Sabha MP, was seen running away from journalists.
An X user shared the video with the caption “If you’ve never seen a fugitive leader, here’s one! When a journalist questioned Akhilesh, he ran away.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
The 19-second clip shows Akhilesh climbing a white gate surrounded by a crowd, including media personnel.
Similar posts can be seen here and here. (Archive), (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false.
A reverse image search led to a YouTube video posted by The Economic Times with the title, ‘Akhilesh Yadav jumps JPNIC boundary wall to pay tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan’ on October 11, 2023.
The news report contained the viral clip of Akhilesh Yadav scaling the fence.
According to the report, in Lucknow, the authorities denied the SP chief permission to enter the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) to offer floral tribute to freedom fighter and anti-Emergency campaigner Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary, resulting in a high drama.
A keyword search revealed a report by The Times of India titled, ‘Akhilesh Yadav climbs locked entrance to pay tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary’. The article was dated October 11, 2023.
The report stated that Yadav stressed the importance of the public knowing who is obstructing SP workers from paying tribute to Narayan, affectionately known as JP. He explained that Samajwadi people have been garlanding his statue every year on his birth anniversary, but this time they were compelled to climb the gate.
Hence, the video does not show Akhilesh Yadav running away from the media but rather climbing a gate to honour Jayaprakash Narayan. The claim is false.
