No, an Old Man Didn’t ‘Stop’ UP CM From Entering a Lane in Village

Since Yogi Adityanath was visiting a containment zone, a barricade was put by making use of a cot and a rope.

A viral video falsely claimed that an old man living in Bijauli village in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut stopped Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from entering a lane by making use of a cot.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A viral video on social media claimed that an old man living in Bijauli village in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut stopped Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from entering a lane by using a cot.

However, the Meerut Police and a local reporter refuted the claim and said that the viral video showed the Chief Minister meeting a member of a COVID positive family and since the area was a containment zone, temporary barricades were put up using a cot and a rope.

CLAIM

Omveer Yadav, state president of western Uttar Pradesh Youth Congress, shared the video with the claim: “ब्रेकिंग न्यूज़- बस करो अब हमें आपकी ज़रूरत नहीं है- जनपद मेरठ के बिजौली गांव में एक बुजुर्ग ने मुख्यमंत्री योगी आदित्यनाथ को अपनी एक गली में खाट खड़ी कर जाने से रोक दिया मुख्यमंत्री जी के लाख कहने पर भी बुजुर्ग ने रास्ता नहीं खोला और योगी जी को वापस जाना पड़ा !!”

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

(Translated: Breaking News- Stop it now, we don't need you anymore - In Bijauli village in Meerut district, an old man stopped Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from entering a lane and put a cot, the Chief Minister urged him to let him enter but the old man did not open the road and Yogi ji had to go back.)

The video shared by Yadav had garnered over 68,000 views at the time of publishing the article.

The same video has been shared by the official Facebook page of Youth Congress Central UP and several other users on Facebook and Twitter. You can view an archived version of the posts here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

On carefully listening to the video, we didn’t notice any uncooperative statement being made during the interaction, as claimed.

As soon as Yogi Adityanath reaches the location, a man can be heard saying, “Yeh hain mukhyamantri sahaab...namaste...mukhyamantri Adityanath ki jai.” (Translated: He is Chief Minister Sir...Namaste...All hail Chief Minister Adityanath.)

Then, Chief Minster says, “Savdhani rakhiye, mask lagaaiye, aur buzurg logon ko ghar se bahar nahi nikalna chahiye, theek hai na...mask sabhi log lagaaiye.” (Translated: Be careful, wear mask, and old people should not go out of their houses, that’s okay, right?...everybody should wear mask.)

WHAT DO MEERUT POLICE, LOCAL REPORTER HAVE TO SAY?

Responding to a tweet, the official Twitter handle of the Meerut Police shared a statement calling the viral claim “baseless and misleading” and detailing the sequence of events that took place when Yogi Adityanath visited Bijauli village in Meerut.

The statement mentioned that since the area is a containment zone, necessary barricades were put up by making use of a cot and a rope.

(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

“In Meerut’s Bijauli village, Yogi Adityanath met member of a COVID-19 positive family living in a containment zone and asked about their well being... Afterwards, he interacted with the Primary Health Centre of the village and members of the Rapid Response Team (RRT). Also, he gave necessary directions after visiting Bijauli’s oxygen plant,” the statement added.

Speaking to The Quint’s WebQoof team, local reporter Ravi Gupta, too, corroborated with the aforementioned details and said, “Since it’s a containment zone, the road was blocked, and that’s why you see Yogi Adityanath standing on one side of the temporary barricade and the COVID positive family on the other.”

On Sunday, 16 May, Yogi Adityanath was on a one-day tour of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad and Meerut to take a stock of the pandemic situation, PTI reported.

Further, a Dainik Jagaran report published on Monday, 17 May, mentioned that an old man by the name of Tara Chandra Sharma could be seen without a mask in a lane that was blocked. After which, Yogi Adityanath urged him to wear mask and stay safe from coronavirus.

Evidently, a viral video of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister meeting a COVID positive family in Meerut was circulated with a misleading claim on social media.

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