BJP supporters distributing liquor? AAP MLA shares old video with false claim

A short video of some people distributing and consuming alcohol is viral on Twitter with the claim this was shot at a BJP rally in Nawada Ward No. 114 in Delhi. In the video, some of the people can be seen wearing headgear and scarves with ‘BJP’ printed on them. AAP MLA Naresh Balyan tweeted the video with the same claim. (Archive)

नवादा वार्ड 114 में भाजपा की शानदार रैली चल रही है। आराम से, धक्का मुक्की मत करो। सबको मिलेगा। बहुत शराब है भाजपा के पास! pic.twitter.com/iIZMaON1Hu

— Naresh Balyan (@AAPNareshBalyan) December 3, 2022

This video was also viral in July this year with the claim that it was shot in Telangana ahead of the BJP’s national executive meeting on July 3. Lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan shared it and his tweet received over 4000 retweets and 14000 likes.

वाह मोदी जी, आपकी पार्टी ने तो तेलंगाना को भी गोवा बना दिया! क्या ऐश है! pic.twitter.com/3Bt0ITqpUs

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) July 4, 2022

Fact Check

Upon reverse image searching key-frames of the video, we found a Dainik Bhaskar report from over a year ago. The report was published after UP Congress uploaded the same video claiming that liquor was being distributed freely to attract a crowd to BJP’s programs. According to the report, the video is said to have been shot in Uttarakhand, before an organizational event of BJP where its national president JP Nadda was present. (Archive)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The same video was tweeted by the national president of the Indian Youth Congress, Srinivas BV, in December 2021. In the background of the video, Srinivas BV can be heard saying “Look how liquor is being used to attract crowds ahead of Nadda ji’s rally in Uttarakhand”.

देवभूमि हरिद्वार में जिस तरह भाजपाइयों ने शराब की नदियां बहाई, क्या उनके कपड़े देखकर प्रधानमंत्री या स्मृति ईरानी उन्हें अभी तक पहचान पाये है? pic.twitter.com/aitz6iMVaY

— Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) December 21, 2021

Srinivas BV had also tweeted the video without the background commentary in December 2021.

सबका साथ – सबका विकास – सभी को शराब !! pic.twitter.com/wwijIV8PKI

— Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) December 20, 2021

Twitter user @Dineshsaklani36 tweeted the video on December 19, 2021. In the video, the text reads, “हरिद्वार में नड्डा का रोड़ शो रहा नाकाम” and “गम भुलाने के लिए भाजपाईयों ने तीर्थ नगरी में छलकाये जाम- पे – जाम”.

बी जे पी का विकाश देखलो pic.twitter.com/SaybkKJFbj

— Dinesh saklani (@Dineshsaklani36) December 19, 2021

News outlets UP Tak and TEN NEWS INDIA featured the video in their reports. They sourced it to the Twitter handle of the Indian National Congress for Uttar Pradesh on their YouTube channel on December 21, 2021.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hence, it is clear that an old video of several people distributing and consuming alcohol is being circulated on Twitter as a recent incident.