A video clip from a speech by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai is doing the rounds on social media with the claim that the politician is calling for gun violence. In the clip, the TN BJP Chief can be heard saying in Tamil: “(If) There are guns with you, there are bullets in those barrels and if there is Modi to issue the orders, you can just take those shots and return. Bharatiya Janata Party will take care of the rest in Tamil Nadu.” Social media users state that through such a speech Annamalai is promoting gun violence. Several Twitter users have shared the 10-second clip of Annamalai with the aforementioned claim.
Twitter user We Dravidians (@WeDravidians) shared the above-mentioned video on August 8 and in the caption the user mentioned the line said by the BJP politician in Tamil about guns. The tweet has received close to 9 Lakh views and has been retweeted over 1,200 times. (Archive)
If you have a gun & the gun has bullets..& Modi orders to shoot then..just shoot and come to us. BJP will take care of you..
-BJP local leader Annamalai pic.twitter.com/1yFjYbLmJy
— We Dravidians (@WeDravidians) August 8, 2023
Tamil television anchor and Twitter Blue user Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) amplified the above video tweeted by ‘We Dravidians’ by quote-tweeting it. His tweet has received over 75,000 views. (Archive)
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) August 8, 2023
Another user named Armaan (@Mehboobp1), who claims to be a Congress worker, shared the clip with a similar claim. “This is the kind of Politics they do. Brainwash common man to do violence while they sit atop and reap the benefit out of every riots,” he wrote in his tweet.
Listen to Tamil Nadu’s BJP President.
He’s saying to ex servicemen that “You have Guns and Bullets. You have MODI’S PERMISSION TO FIRE at will. TN BJP WILL SAVE YOU.”
This is the kind of Politics they do. Brainwash common man to do violence while they sit atop and reap the… pic.twitter.com/Gi5qCH1eik
— Armaan (@Mehboobp1) August 8, 2023
Other users such as @sanjayuvacha, @syedrafi and journalist @raman_anuradha also shared the video clip with similar claims.
Fact Check
We noticed that under @WeDravidians‘ tweet, some users mentioned that the video the user had shared was clipped and the context of the BJP leader’s words were left out. Some users also shared a longer version of the video speech by Annamalai in the comments.
Twitter user Vij Sriram (@sriramchennai07) shared the full-length video which is 2.03-minute long.
Do you have a habit of checking the facts before quote retweeting and over reacting for BJP related videos doctor? 😀
The full video is here.. He said this to the soldiers in the borders (in the context of doing their duty) without worrying about their family here, during the… https://t.co/eJlLtL3rKZ pic.twitter.com/V5LrMp4bwf
— Vij Sriram (@sriramchennai07) August 8, 2023
The speech by the BJP leader in Tamil can be translated as: “…therefore for Mr Prabhu and his family, on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a cheque for ₹10 Lakhs was given to his wife immediately from the party. This is just the beginning. You all have made a request to the Tamil Nadu government. I may not do so as I have stopped requesting the government. I believe that we can rather make do as individuals. If they (TN Govt) don’t give, our party men might as well collect those funds across Tamil Nadu.
Therefore today for his wife, the four months old baby girl, and their sister who is two years (unspecified). To the wives of those two people (unspecified), we would like to say that we are giving this cheque of ₹10 Lakhs to take care of your immediate needs. Beyond that, we take the responsibility to educate those two children for the rest of their lives. We will take care of it, we the leaders of the party are there, it’s our responsibility. Why we are doing this? It is to send a strong message to every soldier on the border, that even if the government isn’t with you, we are with you. There are guns with you, there are bullets in those barrels and if there is Modi to issue the orders, you can just take those shots and return. Bharatiya Janata Party will take care of the rest in Tamil Nadu. Without fear, every soldier from Tamil Nadu at the border in the Indian army will say that “the name in the front is more important than the name in the back.” Because it is on the front that you will have ‘Indian Army’ inscribed, our names shall be on the back.
So if anyone else is there, especially those from other states, should look at the ones from Tamil Nadu and wonder if there are leaders, party cadres and Tamil People who will stand for you. We have the duty and responsibility to (make them) say it. Reiterating that in the coming days, the Bharatiya Janata Party shall be a protective shield to the family (indistinct)….”
The above speech was given by the BJP leader in February of this year at a protest rally in Chennai. The protest rally was organised by BJP’s ex-servicemen wing after the death of an Indian Army soldier M Prabhu allegedly from a thrashing by a DMK councillor. When put in context, it is clear that the BJP leader was not calling for gun violence but was referring to soldiers who are posted on borders. Previously as well, right after Annamalai made the speech, there was confusion about the part about ‘guns’, it was taken out of context and misleading posts were shared on social media.
Therefore, the claim that TN BJP chief Annamalai is calling for gun violence is false. His words have been clipped out of a longer speech made by the politician and is being shared without context.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.
