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| - Fact Check: Did Prakash Raj tell people not to vote for Congress in Karnataka polls? Viral clip is from 2019
Many claimed that actor Prakash Jha asked people not to waste votes by casting in favour of Congress. India Today Fact Check's probe found that the video is old and not related to the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.
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India Today Fact Check
The video has clipped out of context and has nothing to do with the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections.
In the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly election 2023, actor Prakash Raj and politician courted controversy after he shared a photo comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adolf Hitler. In its aftermath, a video of Raj attacking the Congress party has been widely shared on social media.
In that video, the actor can be heard saying, "So don't waste your vote on Congress. I did not join any political party. I am an independent. I seriously take offence to this dirty politics stooping down by the Congress". Sharing the video, one person tweeted, "Dear Karnataka, Prakasha has asked you all to NOT waste your votes on Congress. He is offended by the dirty politics of Congress party. So please vote for BJP." The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Another person tweeted the video and wrote, "Big message Came From @prakashraaj Ji,” alongside the hashtag “KarnatakaAssemblyElection”. One sarcastic tweet containing the video read, "Prakash Raj uncle campaigning for BJP He blocked me ..tell him he is also our campaigner". The archived versions of these tweets can be seen here and here.
India Today’s investigation found that the video is not related to the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections at all.
OUR PROBE
On the Twitter account of the actor, we found the longer version of the viral video there, shared on April 17, 2019. This made it clear that the tweet had nothing to do with the upcoming polls in Karnataka.
His tweet read, "FAKE NEWS by CONGRESS. Look at the dirty politics of this party. SHAME ON CONGRESS HAVE SENT THE COMPLAINT TO ELECTION COMMISSION WITH PROOF. Please spread and share to counter DIRTY POLITICS."
In that video, the actor alleged that Congress was spreading misinformation about him. He said, "Look at the dirty politics the congress is doing in Bangalore Central.
A man who claims to be Rizwan's PA, his name is Mazhar Ahmed. He had taken a photo of me and Rizwan attending a candidate's meeting and then said Prakash Raj is supporting Congress, so don't waste your vote on Congress. I did not join any political party. I am an independent. I seriously take offence to this dirty politics stooping down by the Congress party and Rizwan. I have given an election complaint and please don't believe in such rumours".
Media outlets like the Deccan Herald and Jagran reported on this at the time.
Prakash Raj contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Bangalore Central seat, as an independent candidate and Rizwan Arshad was the Congress candidate.
Thus, the full version of the viral video makes it clear that Prakash Raj spoke about misinformation being spread using his name and photo back in 2019 — and therefore nothing to do with the Assembly polls in Karnataka.
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