Did PM Modi Announce Free Electricity For All? Edited Clip Went Viral

A video is going viral on social media where Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to declare that people will no longer have to pay electricity bills. In the clip, he is heard saying that the government will pay for everyone’s electricity bills from now on. 

Many users are sharing this clip with captions suggesting that if someone comes to collect electricity bill, you can just show them this video.

Fact Crescendo found the viral claim to be false. The clip posted on social media is clipped and edited to remove the original context of Modi’s statement about PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. 

WHAT’S THE CLAIM?

In the viral clip, PM Modi is heard saying: “Modi has decided that your electricity bill will be zero. Until now you were paying electricity bills. Now the government will pay you for electricity, and this is Modi’s guarantee.”

After this, the user adds, “Modi ji has made your electricity bill completely free. If anyone comes to collect the bill, just show them this video.”

The caption of the post reads, “Listen to Modi’s announcement, now electricity will be absolutely free and no one will have to pay any bill.”

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FACT-CHECK

Using keywords, we found the original video from which the viral clip is extracted. It is from PM Modi’s election rally in Patliputra, Bihar on 25 May 2024.

The full speech is available on the Prime Minister’s official YouTube channel. 

In the original speech, PM Modi was speaking about the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. He did not announce the free electricity for everyone. 

His full statement was: “Now Modi is going to do one more thing, and this is for everyone. No matter how rich or poor you are, you can benefit from it. People in villages as well as in cities can also benefit. This scheme is designed so that you never face any difficulty in life. And Modi has decided that your electricity bill will be zero. Yes, electricity bill will be zero. We have launched the ‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.’ Solar panels will be installed on rooftops, and they will generate electricity. You can use that electricity for your own needs free of cost, and whatever extra power is produced, the government will buy it from you. Until now, you were paying electricity bills. From now on, the government will pay you for electricity. And you might be wondering, Modi has promised zero bills and is talking about solar panels, but who will install them? For that too, Modi will give every family 75,000 rupees.”

So PM Modi never said that everyone’s bills across the country will be waived. What he actually said was that if people take part in this solar scheme, they will not have to spend on electricity from their own pocket, because the panels will produce the required power. 

CONCLUSION

The clipped and edited video of PM Modi is misleading and spreads a false claim about free electricity for everyone. PM Modi was speaking about the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, under which households that install solar panels can reduce their electricity bills to zero and even earn money from selling extra power.