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| - Fact Check: Old clip of Rajnath Singh addressing farmers passed off as support to ongoing stir
A short clip of Rajnath Singh speaking in support of farmers is viral on social media with the claim that it is a recent video of the defence minister addressing farmers protesting against the new farm laws in Delhi. India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the video is from 2013.
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India Today Fact Check
This is a 2013 video of Rajnath addressing farmers at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar during UPA rule.
A short clip of Rajnath Singh speaking in support of farmers is viral on social media with the claim that it is a recent video of the defence minister addressing farmers protesting against the new farm laws in the National Capital Region.
Rajnath Singh is heard saying that he will stand with the agitating farmers irrespective of political affiliations, and also criticises the Prime Minister for not understanding the situation of farmers. The caption in Hindi along with one such video translates to, “Big Breaking: Big split in BJP on farmers’ issue! Rajnath Singh supports farmers.”
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the video is from 2013 when Rajnath was addressing farmers staging a dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi during UPA rule. The BJP-led NDA government came to power at the Centre in 2014.
The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here and here.
AFWA probe
Using appropriate keywords, we found a longer version of the video uploaded on the official YouTube channel of BJP on March 20, 2013. The video caption says, “Shri Rajnath Singh addressing farmers staging dharna at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi: 20.03.2013”.
The same video was also uploaded with a similar caption on the official website of Rajnath Singh.
According to a report published on March 19, 2013, by The Hindu, thousands of farmers from across India had reached the Capital with a slew of demands, including a commission to guarantee a minimum income to farmers.
Hence, it is clear that the viral video of Rajnath addressing farmers is almost eight years old and not related to the ongoing farmers’ protest.
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