Mamata Banerjee Left The Stage While The National Anthem Was Being Played? Here’s The Truth.

Recently, a video of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee allegedly leaving the stage while the National Anthem was being played went viral on social media.

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However, as we investigated, we came to know that the viral video had been altered. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

Towards the end of the video, we could see the background screen of the stage which has texts written in Bengali. According to the Bengali text, the event was about widow pensions for new applicants and the date written was 23 March 2022. It also read “Netaji Subhash Indoor Stadium”.

Taking this clue, we conducted a relevant keyword search. This led us to the stock image website “Getty Images” where a longer version of the video was uploaded on 23 March 2022. The description of the video read, “KOLKATA, INDIA – MARCH 23: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a programme for the widow pension scheme at Netaji Indoor Stadium, on March 23, 2022 in Kolkata, India. Speaking at the event Mamta said that the self-help groups (SHGs) would be given orders for stitching uniforms, providing them with employment. The clothes would be produced locally by small scale units and the money would also thus roll into Bengal. (Footage by Times Network India via Getty Images)”

The video shows Mamata Banerjee leaving the stage after the National Anthem ended. Moreover, the National Anthem played in this video was an instrumental one, on the other hand, in the viral video, the National Anthem was sung by vocalists. 

Moving forward, using Bengali keywords, we found the full version of the event streamed on a Facebook page “Trinabhoomi Foundation” on 23 March 2022. 

In this video, it is clear that an instrumental version of the National Anthem was being played and Mamata Banerjee left the stage after the Anthem ended.

Other videos can be seen here and here.

This makes it clear that the viral video has been altered.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the viral video has been altered. Mamata Banerjee did not leave the stage while the National Anthem was being played. The original video shows Mamata Banerjee leaving the stage after the National Anthem ended. Moreover, the National Anthem played in this original video was an instrumental one, it was not sung by vocalists.