The official X account of the BJP (@BJP4India) recently shared an eight-second clip of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge saying, “राहुल गाँधी जैसे नेता अपने जान इस देश के एकता के लिए दी” (Translation: A politician like Rahul Gandhi sacrificed his life for the unity of this country).

In the tweet, @BJP4India asked, “ये कब हुआ?” (Translation: When did this happen?). (Archive)

Amit Malviya, who is in charge of the BJP’s national information & technology department, also tweeted the clip and wrote, “जिन्होंने आपको अध्यक्ष बनाया उनके बारे में ऐसा बोलना ठीक नहीं है खड़गे जी।” (Translation: It is not right to speak like this about those who made you the President, Kharge ji). (Archive)

Right Wing influencer Rishi Bagree also tweeted the viral clip and claimed that Congress was ‘planning something sinister’ to gain sympathy votes. (Archive)

The official account of BJP Punjab also tweeted the video. (Archive)

Several other X users, including verified ones, have amplified the clip. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4)

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Fact Check

The 8-second clip that is viral on social media is from a public meeting in Anupgarh in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan that Kharge addressed on November 20, ahead of the November 25 assembly polls in the state. The entire speech by Kharge has been uploaded to the Indian National Congress’ official YouTube channel.

We located the viral section of the speech at 11:20. Below is a transcription from the 11:09 mark to the 11:55 mark.

“देश की सेवा में कांग्रेस पार्टी लगी है. हमारे पार्टी में इंदिरा जैसी महान नेता अपनी जान कुर्बान की| राहुल गाँधी जैसे नेता अपने जान इस देश के एकता के लिए दी…(somebody is heard correcting him) माफ़ करना…मैं माफ़ी चाहता हूं मीडिया से और दूसरे दोस्तों से भी. राजीव गाँधी एकता के लिए अपनी जान दी. तोह कांग्रेस में जान देने वाले लोग है, और बीजेपी में जान लेने वाले लोग है”

“Congress party is engaged in the service of the country. In our party, great leaders like Indira sacrificed their lives. Leaders like Rahul Gandhi gave their lives for the unity of this country…(somebody is heard correcting him) Sorry… I want to apologize to the media and also to other friends. Rajiv Gandhi gave his life for unity. So, there are people in Congress who gave up their lives, and there are people who take lives in BJP.”

When put in context, it is evident that Kharge’s statement was unintentional. At the time, Kharge was speaking about the Congress leaders who had sacrificed their lives for their country when he mistakenly named Rahul Gandhi as one such leader, instead of naming his father Rajiv Gandhi. He was immediately corrected by somebody from the dais. He apologised to the audience and the media and rectified his mistake.

India Today also reported on the BJP’s attempt at mocking Kharge’s slip-of-tongue. “Someone immediately alerted him about his slip of tongue and Kharge corrected himself”, read the report.

Hence, a clip of Kharge mistakenly naming Rahul Gandhi instead of his father Rajiv Gandhi who was assassinated on May 21, 1991, was tweeted by the official handle of the BJP and others in an attempt to mock Kharge. The clip has been shared without context. Alt News found that Kharge apologized for his mistake and immediately rectified it.

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About the Author

Student of Economics at Presidency University. Interested in misinformation.