A video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has gone viral on social media. It portrays the Congress leader walking out of a temple and the crowd erupting with ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and ‘Modi Modi’ chants. Users have shared the video claiming that the incident happened when Gandhi recently visited a temple in Ayodhya after filing his nomination for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress leader filed his nomination from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli constituency on May 3.
An X (formerly Twitter), @Mahaveer_VJ shared the video with the caption, ”Pappu became Brahmin again after filing nominations today and went to Ayodhya! People welcomed him with Jai Sree Ram and Modi Modi chants…’ The tweet has received over 21,100 views.
Pappu became Brahmin again after filing nominations today and went to Ayodhya!
People welcomed him with Jai Sree Ram and Modi Modi chants…😅 pic.twitter.com/exSpYs2jlr— महावीर जैन, ಮಹಾವೀರ ಜೈನ್, Mahaveer Jain (@Mahaveer_VJ) May 4, 2024
A user named Gaurav Dhiman, who identifies himself on Facebook as “BJP IT Cell District Convenor 2023-Present” also shared the video on Instagram and Facebook with the same caption.
The claim was amplified on X and Facebook by several users.
Fact Check
We broke down the viral video into key-frames using Invid software and then reverse-searched one of the images on Google. This led us to a video posted by BJP leader Nishikant Dubey on February 3, 2024. Dubey posted the video stating, “Against the politics of Muslim appeasement, my Godda Lok Sabha is permeated with Prime Minister Modi. Here the devotees respect Modi ji, like you, Rahul Gandhi ji, the vote of the devotee is a boycott, not an insult.”
मुस्लिम तुष्टिकरण की राजनीति के खिलाफ मेरा गोड्डा लोकसभा केवल प्रधानमंत्री मय यानि मोदी मय है। यहाँ भक्त मोदी जी का सम्मान है,आपकी तरह राहुल गांधी जी वोट भक्त का बहिष्कार है अपमान नहीं pic.twitter.com/UBd75Va91i
— Dr Nishikant Dubey(Modi Ka Parivar) (@nishikant_dubey) February 3, 2024
Godda is a district town in the state of Jharkhand. It is represented in the Lok Sabha by BJP leader Nishikant Dubey. He is also the BJP’s candidate from the seat this time.
This tells us that the video is not a recent one. It is at least as old as February 2024.
We performed a keyword search on YouTube to find more context. This led us to a Republic World video report titled ‘Watch: Rahul Gandhi Embarrassed Again, Greeted With Modi-Modi Chants At Baba Baidyanath Dham’ which was uploaded on February 3, 2024.
Deoghar is one of the six assembly constituencies under Godda LS seat.
The video description states, “In an embarrassing moment for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he was greeted with chants of Modi-Modi at the Baba Baidyanath Dham in Jharkhand’s Deoghar during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.”
According to a Times of India report titled, “Crowd raises ‘Modi, Modi’ chants as Rahul Gandhi visits Baba Baidyanath Dham in Jharkhand”, Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra reached Jharkhand on February 2. The report stated, “Dressed in pink dhoti and sandalwood powdered forehead, Rahul Gandhi offered prayers at Baba Baidyanath Dham on Feb 3. As soon as Rahul Gandhi entered the famous jyotirlinga in Jharkhand’s Deoghar, loud sloganeering began. Public in large numbers raised ‘Rahul Gandhi Zindabad’ slogans, but suddenly it turned into ‘Modi-Modi’ chants. ”
To sum up, social media users have falsely claimed that a crowd chanting ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and ‘Modi Modi’ while Rahul Gandhi was coming out of a temple is a recent incident in Ayodhya, after he had filed his nomination for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Our fact check revealed that the video was from February 3, 2024, when Gandhi had visited Baidyanath Dham in Jharkhand, during his Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra march.
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