By Hazel Gandhi
As Bakri Eid approaches, the Twitter handle of BJP Karnataka has shared a video of INC leader Priyank Kharge addressing law enforcement officials and accused him of "abusing his power" and "promoting illegal cow slaughter."
BOOM found that a longer version of the clip shows Kharge speaking against cow vigilantes and how it is important to follow the law.
Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge, who is also the Kalaburagi district in-charge, addressed several law enforcement officers on June 22, 2023, and spoke about enforcing strict guidelines to curb cow vigilantism in Kalaburagi.
According to Human Rights Watch, 44 people have died and 280 people injured across 12 states in India between May 2015 and December 2018 owing to cow vigilantism. This campaign mainly involves far-right individuals, usually affiliated with Hindu groups, accusing Muslim and Dalit individuals of illegal animal slaughter, and attacking them under the guise of cow protection.
The video shows Kharge speaking about the matter in Kannada and the caption by BJP Karnataka on Twitter reads, "Article 48 of the Indian Constitution clearly prohibits the slaughter of animals, particularly in public spaces. However, @PriyankKharge is abusing his power by not only promoting illegal cow slaughter but also pressuring police officials to arrest anyone who opposes it. The self-proclaimed Constitution expert @siddaramaiah should explain whether this violates Baba Saheb’s Indian Constitution or not. If not, both needs to be educated on the Indian Constitution."
The tweet has over 2.7 million views and more than 5,000 retweets at the time of writing this article.
Click here to view the tweet and here for an archive.
Right-wing news outlet OpIndia also made similar accusations against Kharge and shared several misleading social media posts in its story.
Click here to view.
The post is also circulating on Facebook where users are calling Congress an anti-Hindu party.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the clip where Kharge is speaking about cow vigilantism has been clipped and shared out of context.
Kharge's 30-second clip in Kannada can be translated as, "See Bakri Eid is now coming up. According to the law, (all PSIs and DSPs, Circle Inspector please listen)... these people who are doing cow vigilantism, saying we are from this dal (group), that dal, they don’t know know how much the farmers are getting troubled. If someone wears a shawl and says we are from this dal or organisation or if they take the law into their own hands, kick them and put them behind bars."
We looked for an extended version of this clip and found a two-minute video uploaded by News First Kannada on June 22.
The first 30 seconds of the clip are an exact match to our viral video, however, the portion of the video after that has been clipped by the BJP Karnataka handle. From 0:35, Kharge continues his statement and talks about the importance of following the law, and how people who have relevant permissions and documents should not be harassed. He also blames the previous regime for beginning this pattern of harassment in the district. He adds that there is nothing wrong in apprehending people who are indulging in illegal activities.
His statement from Kannada can be translated as, "(The) law is very clear. All transportation of livestock, whether it is within city limits or in rural areas, if they have permission or documents, stop the harassment. Will you sit in the police station after giving your work to them (cow vigilantes)? This new harassment was started during the previous government's regime. Last time in Gulbarga, these guys visited homes and picked up farmers' animals. Act according to the law. And then these senas who will be born overnight... If anybody takes the law in their own hands, there should be strict action taken against them. If anybody is illegally smuggling animals be it livestock or any other animal, there is no denying (that). But even after having all permissions if someone else is harassing, you ask them, who are they to ask?"
Kharge evenresponded to the BJP's accusations and said, "The person who is handling BJP's social media should be fired. Because he clearly does not understand Kannada."
"I have very clearly stated that any sort of vigilantism will not be tolerated. We are going to abide by the law, and if BJP has a problem abiding by the law, they will have to face the consequences," he added while saying that as district in-charge, it was duty to ensure the law was obeyed and he did not see why the BJP had an issue with that.
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