False claim of Pakistani flag waved at Congress rally resurfaces on social media - Alt News
Arjun Sidharth
26th March 2019 / 2:43 pm / Last updated: 19th February 2021
A photo has been shared on social media with the claim that the Pakistani flag was waved at a rally of the Congress party. A green-coloured flag with a crescent and star can be seen in the picture that carries the text, “Forget about Rs 80/ litre petrol. I will happily fill up my car tank with Rs 90/ litre petrol but never vote for a party that raises ‘Hindistan Murdabad’ slogans and hoists the flag of Pakistan in its rallies. (₹80 का पेट्रोल छोड़िये मै ₹90 का पेट्रोल अपनी गाड़ी में खुशी-खुशी भरवा लूंगा पर कभी ऐसी पार्टी को वोट नहीं दूंगा जिसकी रैली में “हिंदुस्तान मुर्दाबाद” के नारे लगते हो और “पाकिस्तानी झंडा” फैराया जाता हो.)”
सुन लो चमचो कान कान खोल कर ।
Posted by Deepak Tyagi Garh on Monday, 15 February 2021
The claim is widespread on Facebook.
A video of the rally depicted in the picture was circulating with identical claim two years ago. It was alleged that the Congress rally where Pakistani flag was raised was held in Tumkur, Karnataka.
This is the Congress Party rally in Tumkur, Karnataka where Pakistan’s flag were seen with party flag.
Think and Vote in the lokshabha 2019pic.twitter.com/AZvB9ScH1e#WhyCongHatesHindus
— सशक्त भारत (@bpjIndia) March 25, 2019
The video was shared on Facebook mostly by individual users in both English and Kannada captions.
This claim was shared earlier in 2018, ahead of the Karnataka assembly election. It has already been debunked by Alt News. The green-coloured flag seen in the video is not the Pakistani flag. It is in fact the banner of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a political party based in Kerala.
There are clear and visible differences between the IUML banner and the Pakistani national flag. The two have been juxtaposed below for comparison.
The ‘Pakistan flag’ bogey is raised every time elections are on the anvil. Earlier in May 2018, ahead of the Karnataka assembly election, the same video had been circulated with the same narrative. It was also falsely claimed that the Pakistani flag was waved at a victory rally of the Congress party in Rajasthan.
Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming.
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