Did Rahul Gandhi refuse to wear turban in absence of camera? False claim by BJP leaders

A video of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is being circulated widely on social media. A number of BJP leaders are sharing the video claiming that Rahul Gandhi refused to wear a turban in the absence of cameras.

The national in-charge of the BJP’s information technology department, Amit Malviya, tweeted this video with the same claim. Malviya accused the Congress party of exploiting religious sentiments for political gain. (Archived link)

Everything is choreographed in Bharat Jodo Yatra including who should be called in to tie the turban and its colour. What is offensive though is Rahul Gandhi refusing to wear the turban when there were no cameras…Exploiting religious sentiments for politics is in Congress’s DNA. pic.twitter.com/PFTr5P68r4

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 11, 2023

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa made a similar claim while tweeting the viral video. He called the Bharat Jodo Yatra a gimmick. (Archived link)

“ अभी नहीं बाँधूँगा” – कैमरा और मीडिया वाले नहीं थे तो @RahulGandhi ने सिर पर दस्तार सजाने से मना कर दिया

भारत जोड़ो यात्रा में “टी-शर्ट” से लेकर “दस्तार” तक…हर हरकत एक नौटंकी और लिखी हुई स्क्रिप्ट का हिस्सा है

गांधी परिवार का सिख विरोधी चेहरा एक बार फिर बेनक़ाब@ANI @republic pic.twitter.com/9ioD3DoAJn

— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) January 11, 2023

BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga also tweeted this clip claiming that Rahul Gandhi refused to don the turban in the absence of any cameras. (Archived link)

For @Rahulgandhi everything is for Votes and PR. अभी नहीं बाँधूँगा, अभी कैमरे नहीं है pic.twitter.com/bBs5wNJzjI

— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) January 11, 2023

Similarly, BJP leader Chetan Bragta and TV9 Bharatvarsh journalist Tanmay Shankar also amplified the video and accompanying claim.

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Fact Check

Alt News noticed that the viral video contained a logo that read ‘News State Punjab’. We performed a keyword search using this information and found a Facebook page by the same name. Here, we found a high-quality version of the clip in circulation. It can be clearly heard in this video that Rahul Gandhi actually refused a woman’s request to pose with her for a picture.

On the same Facebook page, we found an interview of Manjeet Singh Ferozpuria, the man who tied the turban on Gandhi. Ferozpuria explains that he ties turbans for a living and has 18 years of experience. He was called to adorn the Congress chief with the dastar.

A video capturing this can also be found on his YouTube channel.

We reached out to Ferozpuria for more information on this matter. He explained that just as he was about to tie the dastar on Gandhi’s head, a woman approached him, asking to take a picture. In response, the leader stated that he did not want to be photographed now, and would do so after the turban was tied. Manjeet also sent us a recording of his statement in which he is refuting the allegation leveled against Rahul Gandhi by BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

To sum it up, several BJP leaders shared a video of Rahul Gandhi falsely claiming that he refused to wear a turban in the absence of cameras. In reality, a woman approached him while he was in the middle of getting the turban tied. When she asked to take a picture with him, he refused, saying that he would do so after the turban was fixed.