Clipped video of Ashok Gehlot viral with false claim of him backing Amritpal Singh on Khalistan

A nine-second video clip of Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has been making the rounds on social media platforms. In the video clip, Gehlot remarks, “Amritpal Singh is saying that if they talk about a Hindu nation, then why should I not talk about Khalistan. This is a very accurate thing he has said”. While tweeting this video, BJP leader Arun Yadav called Ashok Gehlot “anti-Hindu and Kalyugi”. (Archived link)

अमृतपाल के खालिस्तान की सोच को सटीक बता रहे हैं,माइनो के मातहत,हिंदू-विरोधी और कलयुगी अशोक गहलोत

इन्हीं के लोगों ने पहले भिंडरावाले को भी तैयार किया था जो बाद में भस्मासुर बन गया था। pic.twitter.com/ps8klyJ1wz

— Arun Yadav🇮🇳 (@beingarun28) April 2, 2023

BJP Delhi vice-president Sunil Yadav tweeted thies video and wrote that Ashok Gehlot gave this statement for the sake of votes and forgot that Indira Gandhi was murdered by a Khalistani. (Archived link)

कांग्रेस CM अशोक गहलोत ने कहा अगर ये हिंदू राष्ट्र की माँग कर सकते हैं तो अमृतपाल क्यों नहीं खालिस्तान की माँग कर सकता।

कांग्रेस इतनी तिलमिलाई हुई है कि इस हड़बड़ाहट में गहलोत जी सिर्फ वोटों के चक्कर में ये भी भूल गये कि इंदिरा गाँधी की हत्या एक खालिस्तानी ने ही की थी। pic.twitter.com/XrTVIXUkCf

— Sunil Yadav (@SunilYadavBJP) April 2, 2023

Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri also tweeted this video clip. It is worth noting that Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri has been found sharing false information on social media several times in the past. (Archived link)

BOOM. pic.twitter.com/DF5ImJMxgd

— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) April 5, 2023

Many other users posted this video clip on Twitter and Facebook.

Amritpal Singh, the head of ‘Waris De Punjab‘, is a pro-Khalistan leader who is on the run. On February 23 in Amritsar, Singh’s supporters attacked the Ajnala police station, resulting in injuries to six police officers.

Fact Check

With a simple keyword search, Alt News came across an article by Dainik Bhaskar dated March 31 covering Ashok Gehlot’s Bharatpur tour. According to the report, Gehlot lashed out at Bhagwat and Yogi Adityanath along with PM Modi at the divisional level worker’s conference in the safe house built at Police Parade Ground. He said that Bhagwat and the PM spoke about a Hindu nation, which is why Amritpal got the courage to speak about Khalistan. The article also carried the video of the Rajasthan chief minister. Relevant scenes from the viral video appear here at the 0:24 mark.

According to Dainik Bhaskar’s video, Ashok Gehlot had said, “Amritpal Singh is saying that if he talks about a Hindu nation then why should I not talk about Khalistan. He has said this so accurately. This is a very dangerous thing for the country. For the first time in history, if we talk about a Hindu nation, others respond why they should not create the same for their communities. Tomorrow the southern states will start speaking up. Such a call was raised in the southern states 40-50 years ago, the new generation may not know. We should worry about the future of the country…”

In other words, several Right Wing users, including BJP leader Arun Yadav, falsely claimed that Ashok Gehlot justified Amritpal’s demand for Khalistan while sharing a clipped video of the Rajasthan chief minister. Upon watching the entire video, it becomes clear that Gehlot was instead expressing concern over raising the demand for Khalistan.