No, AAP Leader Atishi Did Not Apologise for Raising ‘Jai Shri Ram’ Slogans

Atishi did not say 'Jai Shri Ram'. People expressed their displeasure after she used the wrong name for a new school

A video of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Education Minister Atishi Marlena speaking at a public event has gone viral on social media, where users are accusing her of minority appeasement.

What is the claim?: The video is being shared with a long caption, which narrates the incident, while calling upon Hindus to unite in the same manner as Muslims. It reads,

"Delhi Minister Atishi Marlena had gone to Shri Ram Colony and there she said Jai Shri Ram. Immediately a crowd of Muslims rose up and created ruckus asking why did you say Jai Shri Ram? Then Atishi Marlena immediately apologized. (sic)."

At the time of writing this report, this X post, which carries the same claim in Hindi, had gathered over 1.8 lakh views.

(Archives of more posts sharing the same claim can be seen here, here, and here.)

Is it true?: No. The claim is false.

• In the claim video and the full video of the inauguration, it becomes clear that some residents of Shri Ram Colony were displeased with the fact that Atishi referred to the new school as the Khajuri Khas school, instead of the Shri Ram Colony school.

• They expressed their objections to Atishi's statements during her speech, after which she pacified them and apologised, calling the school the Shri Ram Colony school.

How did we find out the truth?: We started off by listening to what was being said in the viral video shared in the claim.

• It starts off with Atishi saying, "...among the most densely populated areas in the country. And I know..."

• The camera then pans to a man in a skullcap, who brusquely tells fellow attendees to stand up and leave, starting a commotion.

• The man, along with a few other people, is heard saying, "Shri Ram Colony bolo," (Say Shri Ram Colony), "Yeh Shri Ram Colony ka school hai, Khajuri Khas-Khajuri Khas laga rakha hai," (This is Shri Ram Colony's school, you keep calling it Khajuri Khas repeatedly), "Yeh Shri Ram Colony hai, ismein kya pareshaani hai?" (This is Shri Ram Colony, what is the problem with that?).

• The commotion continues, with people expressing displeasure at Atishi's speech. At this point, Atishi speaks up from the stage, asking people to remain seated and apologises to the audience. "I would like to apologise to the residents of Shri Ram Colony, this is Shri Ram Colony's school, where children from Shri Ram Colony, Khajuri Khas, Karawal Nagar, and Sonia Vihar will come to study."

• An off-camera person then says, "Now this is right," and applause follows.

The video in the claim itself shows that the attendees objected to the name with which Atishi was referring to the school, as they felt it was Shri Ram Colony's school.

Official visuals refute the claim: Using keywords such as "Atishi Marlena Shri Ram Colony school," we looked for more information surrounding the incident in the video.

• On 9 March 2024, the AAP issued a press release about Atishi Marlena, Delhi's education minister, inaugurating a new school in North-east Delhi's Shri Ram Colony neighbourhood, called the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya and Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya.

• Further searching led us to a long video of the school's inauguration, uploaded by a YouTube channel called 'Directorate of Education, GNCT of Delhi' (Government of the National Capital Territory).

At the 31:15-minute mark of this video, Atishi addresses the audience, raising chants such as "Bharat Mata ki Jai", "Vande Mataram," and "Inquilab Zindabad."

She did not raise the "Jai Shri Ram" slogan, as claimed.

Throughout the video, she kept talking about the newly constructed school in the Khajuri Khas area, calling the school a "majestic government school," highlighting its various features and facilities that it would provide for the children of Khajuri Khas, Sonia Vihar, and Karawal Nagar.

At the 40:33-minutes mark of the video, she says, "If there would be just one school that I have been the most happy to inaugurate, it would be the inauguration of this Khajuri Khas school, and that it because this area of north-east Delhi – Karawal Nagar, Sonia Vihar, Khajuri Khas – these might be one of the most densely populated areas in the country."

Atishi then goes on to say, "And I know, that for several years in the past, despite new government schools being constructed, so many of our children were studying in tiny classrooms."

At this point, she notices the ruckus, and asks people to settle and sit down. On the stage, municipal councillor Mohammed Aamil Malik hands her a note, and says, "Our school is in the name of Shri Ram Colony, not Khajuri Khas. Please say Shri Ram Colony."

Continuing to pacify the crowd, she apologises and says, "I would like to apologise to the residents of Shri Ram Colony, this is Shri Ram Colony's school, where children from Shri Ram Colony, Khajuri Khas, Karawal Nagar, and Sonia Vihar will come to study."

Towards the end of her speech, she congratulates the locals on having a great school in their area, hoping that students from this school get into "IIT, NEET, and prestigious universities."

Conclusion: A video of people expressing displeasure at Atishi Marlena for calling a new school by the wrong name is being shared to falsely claim that Muslims spoke up against her after she raised "Jai Shri Ram" slogans.

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