| schema:text
| - Fact Check: Chief Election Commissioner didn't skip this journo's question, clipped video viral
A clipped video from the press conference of the Election Commission of India was shared to claim that the CEC skipped a journalist's question.
Listen to Story
India Today Fact Check
The viral video is clipped. In the full video, CEC Rajiv Kumar can be seen answering the journalist’s question, along with other queries later.
The schedule for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 is out now, according to which the world's biggest electoral exercise will be held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1, with counting of votes on June 4. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, announced this schedule along with dates for assembly elections and By-Elections in 26 Assembly Constituencies, in a press conference held on March 16.
A video clip from this press conference is now making the rounds on social media platforms, in which a journalist can be seen asking whether the election commission will take action against the ruling party for violation of the model code of conduct (MCC), or only leaders of the Opposition party will bear the brunt. Those sharing the clip claimed the Election Commissioners dodged her query, calling them biased.
The text inside the viral video read: “Hats off to her guts. A brave journalist asked, 'Why isn’t the ECI taking action against Modi & Shah for their hate speeches?' But the spineless ECI skipped the question.”
India Today Fact Check found that the viral video is clipped. In the full video, CEC Rajiv Kumar can be seen answering the journalist’s question, along with other journalists' queries at the conference later.
Our Probe
We found the live streaming of the press conference shared on the official YouTube channel of the Election Commission of India on March 16. The conference was led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, who first shared slides containing detailed electoral statistics along with advisory to the contesting political parties. This was followed by the schedule of bypolls on 26 ACs, Assembly elections in four states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha, and the schedule of Lok Sabha polls.
Following that, journalists at the conference raised their questions. The clip of the viral video can be seen in this footage at the mark of 1 hour 54 seconds. The woman introduced herself as Ashlin Mathew from the National Herald.
As journalists asked their queries, CEC Rajiv answered the first round of five questions, including the one from the viral video at the mark of 1 hour 10 minutes and 22 seconds.
Addressing the allegation of bias in dealing with the violation of the MCC, he said, "Wherever there will be a case of violation against anyone, no matter how renowned the politician may be, we will take action against him or her."
This answer by the CEC was also reported by the Hindustan Times in a report about the conference. It further added that an individual named Professor DS Agarwal, who introduced himself as a nominee of ex-President Pranab Mukherjee in 2012, also asked questions from the poll body officials.
The man was, however, led away from the conference, as he was not a member of the press. The video of the incident was also tweeted by the news agency ANI.
Thus, it is clear that a trimmed video was shared to claim that the ECI skipped a journalist’s question at a press conference.
Please share it on our at 73 7000 7000
You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)