A video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going viral with a claim that he recently spoke against the Maratha community and called them 'robbers'.
About the video: In the 28-second-long video, PM Modi was heard saying, "You tell me, do you like these kinds of tactics. Would you be in agreement with snatching reservations from the OBC community? With all your power, tell me if you agree with it or not. This is what they want to do in all states and the country."
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
Is this claim true?: No, this video of PM Modi has been edited to share his statements out of context. A longer version of his speech showed him referring to OBC reservations being given to Muslims in Karnataka.
What led us to the truth?: We searched for PM Modi's speech on YouTube using the keywords "PM Modi Maharashtra Speech."
This led us to a video which showed the Prime Minister wearing the same outfit as seen in the viral clip.
It was published on 7 May on his official YouTube channel and was titled, "PM Modi addresses a public meeting in Beed, Maharashtra."
In his speech, he was heard targeting the INDIA bloc and was seen rallying support for NDA.
At around the 13:42 timestamp, PM Modi said, "You always know that it was Babasaheb Ambedkar who gave reservations to Dalit, backward communities, and Adivasis. Babasaheb was also against giving reservations based on religion in India. About 75 years ago, the entire constituent assembly had discussed at length and then decided against giving reservations on religion."
PM Modi continued by saying, "However, the Congress party wants to snatch the reservations from Dalits, backwards, and Adivasis and aims to distribute it on religion-basis." This is where he gives the example of Karnataka.
"In Karnataka, there is Congress government. OBCs have been granted 27 percent reservations. What did they [Congress] do? Overnight, their government declared that the Muslim community are also OBCs. What was the result? 27 percent reservation given to OBC by Babasaheb Ambedkar, constitution, and parliament was overnight also given to Muslims by declaring them OBCs. They stole from what the OBCs had. A significant portion of the benefits that people used to get earlier, was then handed over to Muslims."Prime Minister Narendra Modi
It was here when PM Modi was heard saying, "You tell me, do you like these kinds of tactics. Would you be in agreement with snatching reservations from the OBC community? With all your power, tell me if you agree with it or not. This is what they want to do in all states and the country."
The official X handle of BJP posted a part of PM Modi's speech that targeted the Congress government for giving reservations to Muslims.
Conclusion: This video of PM Modi has been clipped to spin it out of context.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)