Fact Check: Yogi protests new UGC regulations in 2026? No, video shows GST reforms drive
A video has been circulating online, claiming to show UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan protesting the new UGC regulations.
By - Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:The video shows UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan protesting the new UGC regulations in a public march.
Fact:The claim is false. The video is from September 2025 and shows Yogi’s GST reforms awareness drive in Gorakhpur with Ravi Kishan.
Hyderabad: The new UGC regulations 2026, which aim to address caste-based discrimination in universities and colleges, have been receiving backlash across the country. People, including students from upper castes, have taken to the streets to protest the Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations.
Meanwhile, a video of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath walking with BJP leaders, including Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan, has been circulating on social media. Those sharing the video claim it shows UP CM protesting against the new UGC regulations.
An X user shared the video with the hashtags, “#yogiadityanath #ugc #foryou #india #bjp.” The text in the video states, “CM Yogi walked on the road of Gorakhpur to protest against UGC.”
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the video is from September 2022. It shows Yogi in Gorakhpur after the GST reforms rollout.
How old is the video?
A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes led us to an extended version of the video published by ANI on September 22, 2025. According to the news agency, CM Yogi, with Ravi Kishan, met and interacted with traders in Gorakhpur after the GST reforms rolled out.
News 18 also published the video on September 22, 2025, stating that Yogi and Kishan were in the Gorakhpur market after the introduction of the new GST.
Media reports on Yogi’s GST reforms awareness drive
Hindustan Times reported on September 23, 2025, that CM Yogi had begun the first phase of a GST reform awareness drive in Gorakhpur to explain new tax rate changes under the Next-Generation GST Reforms.
The report mentioned that Yogi led a march (padyatra) from Jhulelal Temple to Gorakhnath Temple Road.
Along the way, he stopped at various shops, malls and markets to talk with traders and customers about the benefits of reduced GST rates and pasted GST awareness stickers on shop fronts and also distributed handbills explaining the reduced tax rates.
Did Yogi speak on the new UGC regulations?
We found media reports stating that Yogi spoke about new UGC regulations. Addressing the inauguration programme of a railway overbridge and a four-lane road flyover in Gorakhpur on January 27, Yogi said that whenever the process of development moves forward, the family-centric and caste-based forces protest and try to create disorder.
We did not find media reports showing the purported march taken out by Yogi and other BJP leaders against the new UGC guidelines.
Therefore, we conclude that the video does not show Yogi Adityanath and Ravi Kishan protesting the new UGC regulations. The claim is false.
