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| - Fact Check: Did Pushkar Dhami distribute money during LS Polls? Viral video is 2 years old
India Today Fact Check found that the viral video is from 2022. At the time, the AAP had accused Dhami of distributing money during the state's Assembly polls.
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India Today Fact Check
The viral video is from 2022 when AAP accused CM Dhami of distributing money among the voters.
Just as Uttarakhand went to polls in the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on April 19, a video allegedly showing Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami distributing money to voters was widely shared. Those sharing the video claimed that this video is from the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
An X user wrote while sharing the viral clip: “BREAKING NEWS Uttrakhand. Pushkar Dhami Chief Minister of BJP-ruled state Uttarakhand caught on camera distributing money in exchange for votes.” Its archive can be seen here.
India Today Fact Check found that the viral video is from 2022. The Aam Aadmi party had at the time accused Dhami of distributing money among voters.
Our Probe
An envelope in the viral video had “Shiv Arora” written on it. Arora is a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Uttarakhand’s Rudrapur. He won the seat in the 2022 Assembly elections. Arora is not contesting in the Lok Sabha elections. This hinted at the video being old.
We then found the viral clip in a video report by The Lallantop from February 15, 2022. The viral video can be seen at the 51-second mark.
According to the report, the viral clip was shared by the Aam Aadmi Party’s Uttarakhand unit on social media. On February 13, 2022, AAP Uttarakhand’s official X account shared the viral clip, accusing Dhami of distributing money during Assembly elections. The party claimed that the incident was in the Khatima district of Uttarakhand.
The party had earlier accused Shiv Arora of distributing money as well. Upon searching, we found a February 7, 2022, News18 video report. This report claimed that Shiv Arora was accused of distributing money in envelopes during Uttarakhand’s Assembly elections.
We also found a clearer photo of the envelope in a Facebook post from February 12, 2022. This envelope featured not just Arora’s name and photo but also the photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP symbol.
It is thus clear that the viral clip is old and unrelated to the Lok Sabha polls.
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