No, Arvind Kejriwal didn’t admit of having family ties with RSS; clipped video viral

by Jignesh Patel

A 7-second video clip of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is being shared on social media where he appears to be saying, “Our family was of the Jan Sangh Parivar. We are born ‘BJPwallah’. My father was in Jan Sangh. He went to jail during the emergency.”

The video was shared by Congress member Mini Nagare after the AAP’s win the Punjab elections. The clip is being passed off as proof that Kejriwal admitted that his family has links with the RSS.

One Twitter user Ajay had posted the clip amid the Delhi elections in 2020 along with the message, “Does anybody need further proof of Kejriwal’s RSS roots?”

Alt News had also received a request on its official mobile application to fact-check the video.

Fact-check

Alt News found that the 7-second clip has been lifted from a February 2020 interview of Kejriwal with NDTV where he claimed that he was quoting a BJP supporter. The Delhi chief minister did not accept that his family has RSS roots.

At 7:15 minutes in the video posted below, Kejriwal can be heard saying, “I saw a ‘BJPwallah’ who was speaking on a channel. He said, ‘Our family was of the Jan Sangh Parivar. We are born ‘BJPwallah’. My father was in Jan Sangh. He went to jail during the emergency but this time I will vote for Kejriwal’.”

Continuing with the man’s story, Kejriwal said, “But then he [the supporter] was asked why so? He said ‘My child studies in a government school and the school used to be in such bad condition. They have improved my child’s future. He said, ‘[Kejriwal] is the only guy who is asking for votes on the basis of his work. In 70 years, no [party] has asked for votes on the basis of their work'”.

He further quotes the BJP supporter’s response to the anchor’s query on Shaheen Bagh and said, “I have been in the BJP. I know their politics. They made this 10-day issue and they have created this Shaheen Bagh. In ten days, after the election, Shaheen Bagh will get over. After that only Kejriwal will be of use for our electricity, water, hospital and school”.

A 7-second clip was circulated on social media to falsely claim that Kejriwal admitted to having family links with the RSS. However, the Delhi chief minister claimed that he was quoting a BJP supporter talking about voting for AAP on the basis of their work.

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About the Author

Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University.