A video showing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asking ‘Who is Bharat Mata?’ is being widely shared on social media platforms, accusing him of insulting the country. The video, shared on Instagram, compares Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. The video shows PM Modi emphatically raising slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ (Glory to Mother India) while Rahul Gandhi can be heard asking in Hindi, “Who is Bharat Mata?” The user insinuates that while BJP respects Bharat Mata, Congress and Rahul Gandhi insults her.
The caption of the post is as follows:
Bharat Mata ki Jai 🙏🙏🙏 Namo Modiji 🪷🪷🪷
Papu ko ye bhi nahi pata Bharat Mata kon he ye puchhta he…
However, when we investigated the video, we found that the video is incomplete and Rahul Gandhi’s clip is being shared out of context. Here is the fact check.
Fact Check
We did a keyword search on YouTube using relevant keywords related to the video. We found the complete speech of Rahul Gandhi on his YouTube channel. The video clip was taken from a speech delivered by Rahul Gandhi at Boondi, Rajasthan on 19th November last year. You can listen to the complete speech below:
The part of his speech shown in the viral clip appears at the beginning of the speech. After listening to the complete speech, we come to know that Rahul Gandhi is not insulting Bharat Mata. In fact, Rahul Gandhi argues the importance of Caste based census and how it will help to understand the composition of the Indian population. He says, “Just a while ago, Chandnaji raised the slogan of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. I have a question. Everyone chants ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ but who is Bharat Mata? What is it? This is a question. Who is Bharat Mata for whom you and I chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai?’ Isn’t Bharat Mata our nation’s land? Yes! Isn’t Bharat Mata the people of our country? Yes! Aren’t your brothers and parents Bharat Mata? Yes! The poor, the rich, senior citizens and all those who chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ are collectively called Bharat Mata. Don’t you think? I just asked a simple question in the Parliament. Who is this Bharat Mata for whom we chant slogans every day?
When I ask who is Bharat Mata, I am asking who are the people of India? How much is the population of different groups? I am just asking for the numbers of Adivasis, Dalits, the poor, the OBCs and the rich people in our country. It is important to ask this question to know who is our beloved Bharat Mata for whom we are willing to sacrifice even our lives! Without knowing how many people in our country are from the Dalit and backward communities, what is the meaning of chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’? That’s why I raised this issue in the Parliament. The country needs to conduct a Caste Census.”
The video clip was first shared by official X handle of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to which Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate had posted a video as response. The video clip is from the same speech given above. In her post Shrinate says, “Is Bharat Mata only the trees, leaves, mountains, fields and granaries? Bharat Mata is the people of India, you, me and people from different groups, castes and religions. All Indians are Bharat Mata.”
In the video comparison given below, you can see the viral clip at the beginning followed by a longer version of the clip. It is clear that Rahul Gandhi was actually speaking of Caste Census and did not insult Bharat Mata or India.
Conclusion
The claim that Rahul Gandhi insulted Bharat Mata during his speech is False and Misleading. Rahul Gandhi was talking about Caste Census in a rally in Boondi, Rajasthan and explained that to know Bharat Mata truly, a caste census must be conducted. The clip being shared to make this claim on social media is incomplete and omits the part where Rahul Gandhi elaborates on his point.
Title:Clipped Video of Rahul Gandhi Shared Falsely as Him Insulting Bharat Mata…
Fact Check By: Harish NairResult: Misleading
