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| - The truth behind Mamata's appeal to 'vote for BJP'
A video of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has gone viral on social media, claiming that she has urged people to vote for the BJP.
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India Today Fact Check
The video is doctored. The crowd didn’t chant “Modi, Modi” but clapped and cheered for Mamata.
A video of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has gone viral on social media, claiming that she has urged people to vote for the BJP.
The official Twitter handle of West Bengal BJP posted a clip of one of Mamata's speeches, along with the caption, "The impact of MODI TSUNAMI - @mamataofficial appeals everyone to vote for BJP! The first time she's made any sense during this election campaign! Thanks a ton DIDI !!"
The impact of MODI TSUNAMI - @mamataofficial appeals everyone to vote for BJP! The first time she's made any sense during this election campaign! Thanks a ton DIDI !! pic.twitter.com/Os6PxdF9GS— BJP Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) April 23, 2019
India Today's Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the video to be doctored.
The Bengal BJP's Twitter handle posted the video on April 23. In an election speech in Bengali, Mamata Banerjee could be heard saying, "BJP sarkar ke vote diye (Vote for BJP)", which was played on a loop.
Though the video was abruptly cut at this point, Mamata Banerjee's voice can still be heard. At this point, the crowd starts chanting "Modi, Modi". The video is of 18 seconds.
The post already had more than 3,500 likes, 1,400 retweets and 30,000 views at the time of filing this report. The archive of the post can be seen here.
A Facebook user posted the same video with the Twitter link. The archived version of the post can be seen here.
In response to the BJP's tweet, the official handle of Trinamool Congress, @AITCofficial, posted the link of Mamata Banerjee's original speech and questioned the BJP's intention.
"#BREAKING Cheats exposed. Desparate @BJP4Bengal tweets doctored @mamataofficial video. Why did you edit out next 2 words? She says, "Vote wisely and democratically on 6th May. Bid good bye to BJP Govt #SHAME."
Here is the original video of @MamataOfficial rallly. Watch from 35:47-35:56 mins: https://t.co/pqGDAChDc2 pic.twitter.com/PcB9sRN2jz— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 23, 2019
AFWA has found that though the BJP posted a doctored video where Mamata Banerjee's words were played on loop to enhance the impact, she had indeed said "Vote for BJP." This could either be sarcastic or a slip-of-the-tongue, but AFWA could not independently verify the reason behind the remark.
AFWA accessed the original video of Mamata Banerjee addressing a rally in West Bengal's Khanakul on April 23 from where the doctored video was taken. Here is the original video.
This video, posted by Mamata Banerjee's official Facebook page, is 36 minutes and 18 seconds long. At the end of the speech, she can be heard saying, "Asun amra 6 May Modi babu ke Bharat sarkar theke kori khali. BJP ke kori khali. Aar mone rakhben 6 May asche din ekhane bhalo kore gonotontre BJP sorkar ke vote diye bhalo kore kobor din, bhalo kore kobor din, bhalo kore kobor din."
The sentence, which sounds a bit incoherent in Bengali, loosely translates to, "Let's make Modi empty-handed, let's make BJP empty-handed, remember May 6 is coming, in democracy, cast your vote for BJP and put them in the grave," and she repeats it two more times.
The crowd then cheers and claps for Mamata Banerjee. In the doctored video posted by Bengal BJP, the crowd chants Modi's name, which has been added to the original video.
The Trinamool Congress has complained to the Election Commission seeking their "quick response and action" regarding the doctored video.
Trinamool complains to EC. Seeking quick response and actionhttps://t.co/d4vIVyUW6mhttps://t.co/qQjfRa7zn1— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 24, 2019
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