By Hazel Gandhi
A video of Indian National Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge saying that his party divides the country based on caste is viral online.
BOOM found that the video has been cropped to make the false claim. A longer version of Kharge's speech shows him attributing the statement to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress is currently conducting its Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, that began in Manipur and is set to conclude in Mumbai on March 20, 2024. Led by Rahul Gandhi, this rally is the second leg of the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra.
In the clip, Mallikarjun Kharge can be heard saying in Hindi, "The Congress party has always divided the country in the name of caste." A user on X shared the clip with the caption, "Kharge Saheb is also saying that Congress is dividing the country in the name of caste. That's #WhyModi"
(Original text in Hindi: "खरगे साहब भी कह रहा है कि कॉंग्रेस जाति के नाम पर देश को डिवाइड कर रही है That's #WhyModi")
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Another user on Facebook wrote, "Congress party is always dividing the country in the name of caste,😀 National President of Congress Mallikarjun Khadge 😝😝"
(Original text in Hindi: "हमेशा कांग्रेस पार्टी देश को डिवाइड कर रहे हैं , जाति के नाम पर डिवाइड कर रही है,😀 कांग्रेस के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष मल्लिकार्जुन खड़गे 😝😝")
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FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the claims are false, a longer version of the video shows Kharge attributing the statement to PM Modi and criticising him for his views.
We ran a reverse image search of some key frames from the viral video and found a post on X shared by news agency ANI on February 15, 2021. The video carried an excerpt from Kharge's public address and matched the viral video. According to the caption, the video was taken in Aurangabad.
Taking a cue from this, we ran a search on YouTube for any public addresses made by Kharge in Aurangabad and found a livestream shared by the Indian National Congress' verified YouTube channel on February 15, 2024.
The video was titled 'LIVE: Shri Mallikarjun Kharge and Shri Rahul Gandhi address the public at Aurangabad, Bihar.'
Around the 30:00 mark, Kharge is heard speaking about the benefits of a caste census. He criticises PM Modi for not supporting the move and instead accusing the Congress of dividing the country on the basis of caste. "What is wrong with our demand for a caste census? Some people... even Modi, says, 'Congress party is dividing the country in the name of caste. But what have we done? We are trying to give people justice."
The part where Kharge attributes to PM Modi by saying "Modi says..." has been cropped from the viral video to falsely claim that Kharge expressed his own views about the Congress.
The caste census has been one of the Congress' main agendas during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and even the 2024 elections. Rahul Gandhi, too, has spoken about how the Congress plans to conduct a caste survey if elected to power; he claims this is being done to know the exact caste-wise distribution of the country's population and ensure the rights of the backward castes are served.
