A video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is being shared on the internet with users claiming that Gandhi said both Hindus and 'Hindutvavadis' should be thrown out of the country.
The video's caption was in Kannada and is being shared after Congress' win in the Karnataka assembly elections.
The video was also viral in 2022. Archive links to such posts can be found here and here. We also received a query on our WhatsApp tipline.
What is the truth?: The video has been clipped and is being shared with a misleading claim.
A longer version shows Gandhi saying, "We should throw these 'Hindutvavadis' once again and bring back the rule of Hindus."
The video dates back to December 2021, when Gandhi was addressing a rally in Rajasthan's Jaipur and protesting against rising prices in the country.
What led us to the truth?: A keyword search led us to a longer version of the video posted on the official YouTube channel of Rahul Gandhi.
It was uploaded on 12 December 2021 and was titled, “India rejects Modi Govt’s endless Price Rise. | Mehangai Hatao Rally | Jaipur Rajasthan."
Gandhi targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party over rising prices.
He mentioned that he is a Hindu and not a ‘Hindutvavadi’. He explained the difference between both terms.
Gandhi said Hindus spend their entire life to find the path leading to truth, whereas ‘Hindutvavadis’ spend their life pursuing power.
He further said that India is a country of Hindus and not ‘Hindutvavadis’.
At around the 11:50 mark of the video, Gandhi can be heard saying, "From 2014, there is a rule of 'Hindutvavadis' and not Hindus. We should once again throw these 'Hindutvavadis' out and bring back the rule of Hindus."
It should be noted that while Gandhi took a pause and said Hindu, but proceeded to mentioned the word 'Hindutvavadi'.
The longer version also showed him asking people to bring back the rule of Hindus. Both these factors combinedly proves that the video is being shared with a misleading context.
News reports: News agency ANI in its tweet also said that Gandhi asked people to throw out the rule of Hindutvavadi and bring back Hindus' rule.
Hindustan Times published a report on 12 December 2021 talking about Gandhi standing by his speech at the rally where he differentiated between the two words.
He said that the 'Hindutvavadis' might attack him for the statement but he is not afraid.
Conclusion: It is clear that an old and clipped video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is being shared with a misleading context on social media platforms.
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