Fact Check: Was Arvind Kejriwal slapped during 2024 election campaign?
A video is circulating on social media showing a man slapping Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal during a roadshow.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 17 May 2024 7:35 AM GMT
Claim: A video shows Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal being slapped during an election roadshow in 2024 after getting bail in the liquor policy scam case.
Fact: The claim is misleading. The incident happened in 2019.
Hyderabad: A video is circulating on social media showing a man slapping Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal during a roadshow. Those sharing the video claim the incident happened during the partyās campaign during the ensuing 2024 elections after CM Kejriwal was released from jail on bail in the Delhi liquor policy scam case.
An X user shared the video on May 12, 2024, linking it to the ongoing elections. (Archive)
(Source: X/ @Santhos34566348)
A similar post can be seen here and here.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that this video is from May 4, 2019, and is not related to the 2024 General Elections.
We conducted a reverse image search of keyframes of the video and found it uploaded on the YouTube channel of Hindustan Times on May 4, 2019, titled āWatch: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal slapped during roadshow in Moti Nagar.ā
According to the caption, the incident occurred during chief minister Arvind Kejriwalās roadshow in the Moti Nagar area of Delhi during the campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Further, a keyword search led us to a report from NDTV on May 5, 2019, titled āArvind Kejriwal Slapped During Roadshow In Delhi, AAP Blames BJP.ā
The report stated that āDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man during a roadshow in the Moti Nagar area. Mr Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party chief, was standing on an open jeep, canvassing in the New Delhi constituency, when the man jumped up and attacked him. He was identified as 33-year-old Suresh, a spare parts dealer. The AAP, meanwhile, has blamed the BJP for the attack.ā
Additionally, Deccan Chronicle published a statement on May 10, 2019, from the attacker Suresh expressing remorse for his actions and stating that he did not understand why he had attacked the chief minister.
We also found similar reports from The Indian Express, Business Standard, Firstpost and Times of India.
The video in question is 5 years old and has nothing to do with Kejriwalās election campaign in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The claim is misleading.
