By Hazel Gandhi
An old video of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee agitated after hearing slogans of Jai Shri Ram being chanted on the streets is viral online as a recent video.
BOOM found that the claims are misleading, the video dates back to May 2019 and was taken in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district.
The clip shows Banerjee's convoy passing by as some people on the streets can be heard chanting Jai Shri Ram slogans. Banerjee then comes out of the car and begins reprimanding the men. The video is being shared with the caption, "The scene of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's vehicle stopped another vehicle and expressed anger on them as all the people chanted Jai Shri Ram."
(Original text in Telugu: "పశ్చిమ బెంగాల్ ముఖ్యమంత్రి మమతా బెనర్జీ వాహనం వెళ్తుంటే ప్రజలంతా, జైశ్రీరామ్ అని నినాదాలు ఇవ్వడంతో వాహనం ఆపి మరీ వారిపై ఆగ్రహం వ్యక్తం చేస్తున్న దృశ్యం.")
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Another caption read, "What are you thinking yourself mamata Begam? Are you a Democratic country's state chief minister or a Gooda gang leader? 'Jai Shri Ram'! 'Shurpanakhi' jumped from the moving Scorpio as soon as she heard it..* _ 🌸"
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
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FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the video dates back to 2019 and is not recent.
A keyword search of the incident on Google using 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Mamata Banerjee' led us to several reports from May 2019 about the incident. This video report by ABP News was published on May 30, 2019, on YouTube with the title 'WB CM Mamata Banerjee Fumes As People Chant Jai Shri Ram In Front Of Her'
This video resembled the viral video and the description carried details about how Banerjee confronted the individuals chanting the slogans and later claimed that they were not locals of West Bengal, but rather people sent by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Below is a comparison between the viral video and the original video shared by ABP News:
The same video was also shared by news agency ANI on May 30, see here.
According to India Today, the incident took place at Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas, when Banerjee confronted the individuals chanting the slogans. She called them "criminals" and told them, "What do you think of yourself? You will come from other states, stay here and abuse us? I will not tolerate this. How dare you all abuse me?" Banerjee also threatened to note down the names and numbers of the individuals.
A video of the incident shared by India Today matches the first half of the viral video. See here.
This is not the only instance where Mamata Banerjee has shown her displeasure over sloganeering of Jai Shri Ram. Earlier in the same month, a similar instance occurred where Banerjee was travelling to West Midnapore district when she was faced with these chants. Later, in January 2021, she refused to continue her speech at an event in Kolkata marking Subhas Chandra Bose's 125th anniversary after some audience members began chanting the slogan.
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