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| - Fact Check: Mehbooba Mufti's anti-BJP jibe goes viral on social media with communal twist
Social media is abuzz with claims about PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti saying that for Indian Muslims, BJP's defeat in UP elections would be a greater victory against tyranny than India's independence from colonial rule in 1947.
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India Today Fact Check
Mufti did not campaign in UP during the ongoing polls. She made this comment on January 17, 2022, in Jammu at PDP's Tribal Youth Convention. She said that “getting rid of this party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh will be a greater Azadi than 1947,” but didn’t mention or addressed any particular community.
With the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls around the corner, a quote attributed to former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has gone viral on social media with some questionable claims. Per many on social media, the Peoples Democratic Party chief said that for Indian Muslims, the Bharatiya Janata Party's defeat in UP would be a greater victory against tyranny than India's independence from colonial rule in 1947.
Many social media users shared a post featuring Mufti's photo and some text alongside in Hindi which reads, "Mehbooba Mufti's clear message. While campaigning against BJP in Uttar Pradesh yesterday, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, told Muslims that defeating the BJP would be a greater victory for the Muslims than India's independence in 1947."
Several people also tweeted the text from the post, urging Hindu voters to consider that if the BJP's defeat would be a victory for Muslims, it would also ensure that this defeat would end up in the subjugation of Hindus.
Archived versions of similar posts can be seen here and here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found this claim to be misleading. Mufti's actual quote did not mention any particular community or religion. Also, she delivered this speech in Jammu a month ago, and not in Uttar Pradesh.
AFWA Probe
Using a few possible combinations of keywords, we searched for Mufti's comments on the UP assembly polls. While searching, we came across a video report published by the Times of India on January 17, 2022.
In that two-minute video, Mufti spoke about how the BJP-led Centre attempts to scare people. But she said that those opposing the government should not let fear guide them. She also advised that the way to combat the BJP was through non-violence - through the might of pen and paper, and not stones or guns.
The PDP leader also said, "Today, we have got a chance to get rid of BJP. It will be greater Azadi than India's freedom of 1947 because they wanted to divide the country." Per the report, Mufti delivered this speech on January 17 at PDP's Tribal Youth Convention.
The report did not, however, show her mention how the victory against the BJP would be a victory for Muslims. In fact, in her speech, she made references to how Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh dissidents are vilified by the government and silenced through draconian laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
A detailed report on her speech was also published by ABP News on January 17. The report does not account for any communal angle in Mufti's speech.
An India TV report published on January 17 as well made it clear that she made these comments in Jammu, not in Uttar Pradesh. We found no such reports which suggest that Mufti campaigned against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh during the ongoing assembly elections.
A full version of Mufti's speech was found in a YouTube video. Here too, there is no mention of any particular community while stating the fight being greater than India's freedom from British rule in 1947.
Therefore, we conclude that Mufti's anti-BJP jibe was given a communal angle in the viral posts even though her speech had no such colour.
(inputs by Riddhish Dutta)
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