Image of AIMIM members burning Nepalese flag falsely shared as saffron and Indian flag

Three images of two Muslim men burning flags in front of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) banner have gone viral on Twitter and Facebook. As per the accompanying claim, AIMIM Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh members burnt saffron flags.

“This is Md Saleem Ansari from AIMIM, Pratapgarh who is publicly burning a saffron flag. Such people become the cause of riots,” reads the claim. Multiple users on Twitter have tagged UP police alerting them about the alleged incident.

(Translated from: ये प्रतापगढ़ के AIMIM जिलाध्यक्ष मो० सलीम अंसारी हैं, जो कि खुलेआम भगवा झंडे को जला रहे हैं, ऐसे ही लोग दंगे की वजह बनते हैं।)

Twitter users @NEERAJD811 (archive link) and @TheThakurSaheb (archive link) posted the set of images. Their tweets were retweeted over 1000 and 600 times respectively.

Some Facebook users (link 1, link 2) have shared another image of the incident and claimed that the men burned the Indian national flag. A poster with ‘India मुर्दाबाद’ written is seen behind the men.

Fact-check

Alt News performed a keyword search on Facebook using ‘प्रतापगढ़ के AIMIM’ and found that Facebook user Parwana Malik Ziya had posted the viral images on June 14. In the post, Ziya wrote that AIMIM members burnt a Nepalese flag after the country’s government declared a part of Indian territory as their own. As per this post, the men in the viral image are AIMIM members Saleem Ahmed Ansari and Israr Ahmed.

Using this as a clue, Alt News performed another keyword search, this time on Twitter, and found that this claim has been debunked by Pratapgarh police. Responding to Twitter user @Vivek21shukla, Pratapgarh police tweeted in Hindi, “The flag displayed in the above-mentioned case is of Nepal. To protest the parliament of Nepal allegedly declaring Indian territories as their land, members of AIMIM party Pratapgarh burnt Nepalese flags. (translated from उक्त प्रकरण में प्रदर्शित झण्डा नेपाल देश का है, नेपाल देश की संसद द्वारा कथित रूप से भारतीय क्षेत्र को नेपाली क्षेत्र बताये जाने के विरोध में एआईएमआईएम पार्टी प्रतापगढ़ के सदस्यों द्वारा नेपाल का झण्डा जलाया गया है।). The tweet by Pratapgarh police also included two images — a news clipping and letter by Ansari dated June 16 which also talks about the protest against Nepal.

उक्त प्रकरण में प्रदर्शित झण्डा नेपाल देश का है, नेपाल देश की संसद द्वारा कथित रूप से भारतीय क्षेत्र को नेपाली क्षेत्र बताये जाने के विरोध में एआईएमआईएम पार्टी प्रतापगढ़ के सदस्यों द्वारा नेपाल का झण्डा जलाया गया है। pic.twitter.com/naSVmIPlmp

— PRATAPGARH POLICE (@pratapgarhpol) June 17, 2020

Nepal’s parliament recently passed the amendment to include a new political map featuring areas of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura in the Constitution of Nepal. As per a June 18 Hindustan Times report, “Almost 98% of the 1,750-km land and riverine border between India and Nepal has been delineated and differences remain only in the Kalapani sector in Uttarakhand and Susta sector in Bihar.”

The clipping shared by the police clearly shows that the men are burning a Nepalese flag.

In response to @Asli_Shivani’s tweet, Pratapgarh police upload a video clarification by one of the men in the viral video. He says, “I had notified the respected president and district magistrate about this protest. I’m protesting against Nepal. In case someone thinks that this act was done to hurt religious sentiments, I’d like to apologise. (Translated from मैंने इस आशय का ज्ञापन माननीय राष्ट्रपति संभोदित करते हुए झिला अधिकारी को दिया है मैं नेपाल का विरोध कर रहा हूँ और अगर मेरे इस योग से किसी को यह लग रहा है कि मैंने किसी की धार्मिक भावनाओं को आहत करने के लिए माफ़ी चाहता हूं।)

उक्त प्रकरण में झण्डा नेपाल देश का है, नेपाल देश की संसद द्वारा कथित रूप से भारतीय क्षेत्र को नेपाली क्षेत्र बताये जाने के विरोध में एआईएमआईएम पार्टी प्रतापगढ़ के सदस्यों द्वारा नेपाल का झण्डा जलाया गया है। pic.twitter.com/kc0EGVfYpK

— PRATAPGARH POLICE (@pratapgarhpol) June 16, 2020

Moreover, we can clearly see AIMIM’s banner in the viral images with a poster that reads ‘Nepal मुर्दाबाद’.

The same men can be seen burning a Nepalese flag in a video uploaded by YouTube channel Osoking O’Tv on June 18.

The collage below clearly shows that the Indian flag and the poster against the country were morphed into the image.

Thus the social media claim associated with the viral image is false. The AIMIM members were burning Nepalese flags to protest the country’s decision to include Indian territory in their map.