No, This Video Does Not Show Arvind Kejriwal’s Statements on Punishing Rapists

The video is from 2020, which shows Arvind Kejriwal talking about punishing the rioters involved in Delhi violence.

A video of Delhi Chief Minister and the national convenor of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Arvind Kejriwal, has been shared by several social media users, including AAP MLA Naresh Balyan, with a claim that it shows the CM's views on punishing rapists.

The claim comes while the Gujarat and Central governments are facing criticism over the premature release of 11 convicted men who were sentenced to life in the Bilkis Bano case. Since AAP is also in the fray for the upcoming Gujarat elections, its leaders have been asked about their views on the matter.

However, we found that the claim is misleading, and the video is clipped. The full video was uploaded on AAP's official Facebook page on 27 February 2020. It showed Kejriwal responding to the accusations against AAP leader Tahir Hussain for his alleged involvement in the northeast Delhi riots.

CLAIM

The claim suggests that clip shows Kejriwal's views on punishing rapists. The video is uploaded with a caption in Hindi, "रेप का ख़िलाफ़ अरविंद केजरीवाल जी का स्टैंड बिल्कुल साफ़ है। ये उनका बयान है। मंडी हाउस में बैठ कर कटिंग चाय पीते हुए लफ़ंगागिरी करने वाले नहीं बतायेंगे कि केजरीवाल को किसपे बोलना है और किसपे नहीं। बयानवीरो को बयान चाहिये। इनकी रोज़ी-रोटी इसी से चलती है।"

(Translation: Arvind Kejriwal's stand against rape is very clear. This is his statement. those who indulge in rhetoric will not tell Kejriwal what matter he should speak on or shouldn't while sitting in Mandi House and drinking tea. These people needed a statement, that's how they sustain their livelihood.)

At the time of writing this article, the video had more than 29,000 views.

Archives of similar posts can be seen here, here, here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We extracted the keyframes of the video and performed a reverse image search on one of them using Google Lens.

This led us to a report published on NDTV on 28 February 2020, which carried a longer version of the video. It mentioned that Kejriwal was responding to allegations against his party's leader Tahir Hussain over his alleged involvement in the violence in northeast Delhi over protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

ABP News also published a similar news report.

Further, we found the same video on the official Facebook page of AAP, which was uploaded on 27 February 2020.

It had a caption in Hindi, which loosely translates to, "AAP has only one statement regarding every rioter - 'Whoever is a rioter, he should be punished severely, if he belongs to our party, then he should get double punishment.'

In this video, the CM was heard talking about the 2020 Delhi violence and mentioning that there should not be any politics over national security and violence matters.

He added, "If someone is from AAP or BJP or Congress and they have contributed to inciting the riots or caused them, then they should not be forgiven. So don't leave anyone, even if there is somebody from my cabinet."

It is here when he can be heard making the same statement as seen in the viral at around the 0:35 mark.

Don't leave anyone; take the strictest actions against them. Why are you asking for statements from people?... Will these statements help in punishing the rioters? Is this how our criminal justice system will work? Put them in jail. If the guilty are from different parties, then put them in jail and if someone is guilty from our party, give them a double sentence.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

WHAT HAS AAP SAID ON THE BILKIS BANO CASE?

The top leadership of the party has so far not made any statements regarding the early release of the convicts. In August, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, in a tweet, criticised the BJP over the release of the convicts and also questioned the safety of women in Gujarat.

More recently, when Sisodia was asked about his views on the case and other minority issues, he said the party's "main focus is on development such as education, schools, hospitals, employment".

Clearly, a clipped video of Arvind Kejriwal talking about riots is being shared falsely linking it with the party's views on punishing rapists.

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