No, viral video doesn’t show Rahul and Cong leaders inebriated during Bharat Jodo Yatra

A video of Rahul Gandhi and some other Congress leaders coming out of a restaurant is making the rounds on social media. It has been claimed that the politicians were inebriated as they were coming out of a bar during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

BJP supporter Prabha Upadhyay tweeted the visuals and wrote, “Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress leaders coming out fully drunk from a local bar in Kerala during Bar Jodo Yatra.” (Archived link)

BarJodoYatra
Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress leaders coming out fully drunk from a local bar in kerala during Bar jodo yathra. https://t.co/frCYGlLP86 pic.twitter.com/2m6rCaoMZ0

— Prabha Upadhyay@BJP (@PrabhaUpadhya21) September 21, 2022

Rishi Bagree, another BJP supporter, also amplified the footage and wrote that the leaders were all intoxicated and inebriated. (Archived link)

Fellow BJP supporter and right wing handle @BefittingFacts also shared the video, adding, “Are they coming drunk at Bharat Jodo Yatra?” (Archived link)

Similarly, numerous social media users posted the video and claimed that Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders were seen coming out of a bar and were intoxicated while on the road for the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Fact-check

We spoke to other Congress leaders who were present when the photo was being taken. They informed Alt News that they were recorded while walking out of an eatery named ‘Malabar Restaurant’ in Kerala’s Kollam district, where they had gone to have dinner.

Based on this information, we reached out to the manager of the aforementioned restaurant. He revealed that Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders had come to dine at the restaurant. The manager clarified that the establishment was not a bar and did not serve liquor. Along with this, he also sent us the CCTV footage from the same night. The clip clearly shows that Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders were simply having food while seated at the table.

Congress leader Pawan Khera posted a tweet warning Rishi Bagree, who had shared the video out of context, of legal action.

To sum it up, a number of social media users, including several BJP supporters, falsely claimed that Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders were seen leaving a bar in an inebriated state during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. In reality, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress leaders seen with him were coming out of Malabar restaurant in Kerala after having dinner.