MISLEADING: Modi Did Not Call Himself ‘Lootera’ And ‘Chor’; Clipped Video Viral

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has intensified his attacks on the BJP during his ongoing ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of winning elections by stealing votes.

Amid this backdrop, a short clip of Modi is circulating on social media. The video is edited in a way that makes it appear as if PM Modi is calling himself a robber (“lootera”) and blaming his mother for not stopping him from becoming a thief (“chor”).

Fact Crescendo received several requests on our WhatsApp Helpline (9049053770) to verify this claim.

We found that the viral clip is misleadingly edited and taken out of context. In the full speech, Modi narrated a common fictional story about a robber. 

WHAT’S THE CLAIM?

In the viral clip, PM Modi can be heard saying, “When I used to steal small things as a child, if my mother had stopped me then, I wouldn’t have become such a big robber.”

Taking the clip at face value, users are sharing it as Modi’s admission of being “vote chor” in connection with recent allegations of vote theft and voter manipulation during the 2024 general elections.

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FACT-CHECK

A keyword search led us to the original video uploaded on the official YouTube channel of Narendra Modi. 

In the video, PM Modi was addressing a rally in Siliguri, ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election, on 10 April 2021. 

After watching the full speech, it becomes clear that Modi was narrating a popular fictional story about a robber.

You can watch the full portion of the speech in the tweet below, from which the viral short clip was taken.

Before telling the robber’s story, PM Modi criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over allegations of corruption and “tolabaji” (extortion) by her party workers.

He quoted her alleged remarks where she supposedly said that Modi should not make a big deal if her party workers take ₹100, ₹200, or ₹500 from people.

Then he proceeds to narrate the story about a notorious robber who was about to be hanged. Before the execution, the robber requested to meet his mother one last time. When his mother came close, the robber bit off her nose. Shocked, people asked why he did that. 

Modi ends the story saying, “the robber replied: When I used to steal small things as a child, if my mother had stopped me then, I wouldn’t have become such a big robber, and I wouldn’t be facing death today.”

Modi then connected this story to Mamata Banerjee’s remarks, saying, “And Didi is saying, ‘What’s the big deal if they take 100, 200, or 500 rupees?’ Didi, this is the same game that ended with the robber cutting off his mother’s nose before being hanged.” 

CONCLUSION

The original context of Modi’s speech has been cut out from the viral clip. In reality, Modi was not talking about himself but telling a fictional story of a robber. He was drawing a parallel between the robber’s story and Mamata Banerjee’s alleged casual attitude toward her party workers’ corruption and extortion.