No, PM Modi Didn't Say 'Tripura Should Get Rid of Manik Saha'

PM Narendra Modi was speaking about Manik Sarkar, and not Manik Saha, as claimed.

The claim states that PM Modi was hitting out at new Tripura CM Manik Saha.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at an election rally where he launches an attack on "Manik" is being shared on social media with the claim that four years ago the prime minister had hit out at Manik Saha, who has now replaced Biplab Kumar Deb as the new chief minister of Tripura, months ahead of the Tripura Assembly elections.

However, we found that the video is from 8 February 2018 and Modi was talking about former Tripura Chief Minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Manik Sarkar, and not Manik Saha.

The Tripura Legislative Assembly election was held on 18 February 2018.

CLAIM

The video is being shared along with the claim in Hindi that reads, "प्रधानमंत्री मोदी ने 4 साल पहले त्रिपुरा के लोगों से कहा था- “अब आपको माणिक नहीं चाहिए, माणिक से मुक्ति ले लो. अब आपको ज़रूरत है हीरे की. हीरा चाहिए कि नहीं चाहिए?” आज BJP ने माणिक साहा को त्रिपुरा का नया मुख्यमंत्री बना दिया है! गजब के व्यक्ति है मोदी जी."

(Translation: Four years ago, PM Modi had told the people of Tripura, "Now you don't want Manik (gemstone), get rid of it. Now you need diamond. Do you want a diamond or not? Today BJP has made Manik Saha as the new Chief Minister of Tripura! What a wonderful person is Modiji.)

In the video, he can be heard saying the same lines.

An archive of the tweet can be seen here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

Several social media users have shared the video along with the same claim and the archived links can be seen here, here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND

We looked with keywords and found the video on Modi's official YouTube channel, which was live streamed on 8 February 2018.

The video title read, "PM Modi addresses Public Rally in Sonamura, Tripura."

The viral part can be heard from 38:31-38:55 minutes.

In his speech, he can be heard hitting out at former CM Manik Sarkar, who had held the position from March 1998-March 2018.

Modi says, "Brothers and sisters, it is said, when your stars are not aligned, then some people who believe in astrology wear different gemstone rings on their fingers. But if someone wears a wrong gemstone, then the person's situation might even get worsened. Tripura has worn the wrong Manik (Ruby gemstone). So till the time, you wouldn't remove the wrong Manik, your luck won't turn in your favour."

He goes on to say that "this Manik has been in the state for the last 25 years" adding that the people are not getting the benefits of government schemes because of that.

It is after this that he goes on to say, "So now you don't need Manik, get rid of Manik. Now you need Hira (diamond). Do you need diamond? When I say HIRA, in this acronym, H means highways, I means I-way (digital connectivity), R means roads, and A means airways. This is the development Tripura must seek."

It is this portion of the video which has been clipped and circulated without context.

Further, BJP leader and current Chief Minister Manik Saha has never held the position of CM in the state.

Clearly, an old video where the PM was speaking against Manik Sarkar is being shared on social media with the false claim that he was speaking about the new BJP CM Manik Saha.

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