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| - Fact Check: Congress workers DID NOT obstruct Uddhav's speech. Here's what happened
At the Wardha rally, Uddhav Thackeray was short on time and thus wanted to deliver only a small speech. The viral clip shows party workers requesting him to speak for longer.
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India Today Fact Check
The viral video is edited to change its context. At Wardha, Thackeray was in a hurry and wanted to deliver only a small speech. The viral clip shows party workers requesting him to speak for longer.
Did Congress party workers obstruct Uddhav Thackeray’s speech during a recent rally in Wardha, Maharashtra?
Attacking the Maha Vikas Aghadi — the Maharashtra alliance comprising Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the grand old party, and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) — many shared a video in which Thackeray could be seen attempting to speak as several men interrupted him.
Sharing the video on X, one person wrote, “What a fall! Uddhav Thackeray is the other name of shamelessness. Watch how congress workers of Wardha denied Uddhav to even make speech in a rally. Ye log ladenge Modi se (These people will fight Modi)?” Some also commented that no one would have dared to do the same to Bal Thackeray. The archive of such a post can be seen here.
India Today Fact Check found that the viral video was edited. At the Wardha rally, Uddhav Thackeray was short on time and thus wanted to deliver only a small speech. The viral clip shows party workers requesting him to speak for longer.
OUR PROBE
With the help of a keyword search, we found an extended version of the viral video on the YouTube channel of ABP Majha. Its title in Marathi stated that Uddhav Thackeray attacked Nitin Gadkari in his speech at a rally in Maharashtra’s Wardha.
The video begins with the part seen in the viral video, featuring Thackeray speaking to other leaders on the stage. However, after the conversation, Thackeray gave his speech, uninterrupted by anyone.
As per reports, this was from an April 22 rally in Hinganghat in the Wardha district for Amar Kale, a three-time MLA from the NCP (Sharad Pawar) and the Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate from Wardha. Aside from Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, Amar Kale, and other local leaders spoke at the event.
We then found the live stream of this rally on the YouTube channel of Mumbai Tak. Right after the 50-minute mark, Amar Kale could be seen speaking on the stage. Midway, one person approached the leader and interrupted him. After this, Kale moved away from the podium and Uddhav Thackeray was invited to the stage.
As Thackeray reached for the mic, some party workers could be seen speaking to him. Thackeray could be heard saying, “Five minutes,” while the other leaders could be heard saying, “No, 15 minutes,” during this. One of the people on the stage even folded his hands in front of Thackeray, who smiled. Following this, Thackeray made a 10-minute-long speech without any interruption.
India Today spoke to Atul Wandile, the State Secretary General of the NCP (Sharad Pawar), who organised this rally. Wandile called the viral claims baseless and explained what happened.
He said, “Some of our leaders’ speeches got extended and Uddhav Thackeray had a few programs lined up in Nagpur. Uddhav Thackeray said I have to leave early for the Nagpur programs, so I will just speak for five minutes. We then requested him that a huge number of people have come here to listen to you, so don’t speak for five minutes; speak for 10 to 15 minutes or as long as you can.”
Thus, it’s clear that Congress workers did not obstruct Uddhav Thackeray’s speech in Wardha.
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