A video of Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly candidate from Katra constituency Rajesh Yadav is circulating widely on social media. It has been claimed that Yadav can be heard saying in the video that Brahmins and Thakurs will be beaten up if his party were to come to power in the state.
कटरा विधान सभा(शाहजहांपुर)सपा प्रत्याशी सभा में सरकार बनने पर ब्राह्मण, ठाकुरों को सड़क पर दौड़ा-दौड़ाकर मारने की बात कर रहा है।वही सपा है, कुछ नहीं बदला है।गुण्डे, मवालियों, बवालियों, अपराधियों की भरमार है। वीडियो की जांच होकर सत्यता की जानकारी होनी चाहिए। pic.twitter.com/hypdixEhlO
— Ramendra Bhushan Pandey (@rbpandey) February 9, 2022
The video has been shared by several individuals on Twitter.
*शाहजहांपुर कटरा विधानसभा के सपा प्रत्याशी को देख लो आप के प्रति कितना जहर भरा हैं*
ठाकुर और पंडितो को दौड़ा_२ कर मारने का काम करेंगे पूर्व विधायक राजेश यादव, इस तरह के नेताओं पर कब कारवाही करेगी यूपी पुलिस।
और कुछ लोग कहते हैं सपा ब्राह्मणों का सम्मान करेगी pic.twitter.com/ZdM7yqd4YH— Poonam Tiwari (@AdarshT75968592) February 9, 2022
It is, in fact, widespread on both Twitter and Facebook.
Fact-check
Responding to a viral tweet, Shahjahanpur police wrote that “the video has been edited to circulate a misleading claim”.
सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल सम्बन्धित वीडियो के सम्बंध में वादी द्वारा *वीडियो को एडिट कर भ्रामकता फैलाने* के सम्बंध में थाना सदर बाजार पर अभियोग पंजीकृत कराया गया है, विवेचनात्मक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।
— SHAHJAHANPUR POLICE (@shahjahanpurpol) February 10, 2022
We performed a keyword search and came across a report by Live Hindustan. According to the report, SP candidate from Katra Rajesh Yadav raised objections after an edited video of his was being circulated online. He also filed a case against six accused and several unidentified people at the Sadar Bazar Station.
Alt News reached out to Rajesh Yadav. He explained that the viral clip has been edited. Neither did he say anything about chasing Brahmans and Thakurs through the streets and beating them up, nor did he make any other provocative remark targetting the community. He also shared the full unedited video with us.
He can be heard saying in the unedited video, “The people are fed up with these small-time goons. In this area, some lowly miscreants harassed some workers and some people. They have ruined their lives. We want to assure you that the day the Samajwadi Party government comes to power, the members of the party will chase these goons down the street and beat them.”
While addressing the gathering, Rajesh added that neither has he practised nor has he ever tolerated thuggery. He never called Thakurs or Pandits derogatory names. This is where the viral clip begins before jumping to the portion about chasing goons down the street and beating them.
To sum it up, this video of SP candidate Rajesh Yadav from the Katra constituency of Uttar Pradesh is doctored. It was circulated with the false claim that Yadav had made an offensive remark toward Brahmins and Thakurs.
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