No, Congress has not promised Rs 10,000 and two liquor bottles to all Telangana voters

By: Rohith Gutta
November 28 2023

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Screenshot of an X post sharing the cropped video (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

Ahead of the Telangana Assembly elections scheduled for November 30, 2023, a 16-second video of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President Revanth Reddy is circulating on social media with the caption, ”Revanth Reddy publicly acknowledged that no one is trusting Congress’s poll promises." An archived version of this clip can be accessed here.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) shared the video on November 24, with the claim, “With their defeat now sealed, Retenta Reddy is now speaking the Truth (archived version here)."

"Retenta" is a derogatory term used to reference Revanth Reddy. In the video, Reddy can be heard saying, “People are not trusting our promises. So, every vote should be bought by giving Rs. 10,000 and two liquor bottles.” 

The video is also circulating on Facebook with the same claim (archived version here).

Screenshots of social media posts sharing the video (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the viral video is cropped and used out of context.

What did we find?

A cursory look at the clip shows us that it ends abruptly while he is still talking, indicating that it is part of a larger video of some speech made by Reddy.

We extracted keyframes from the viral clip and performed a reverse image search. It revealed that the clip is part of a longer speech given by Reddy at the Congress Jana Sabha (Congress People’s Meeting) held in Tungaturthi, in Telangana, on November 24. 

Telugu news channels like ABN Telugu and YouTube channels like YOYO TV live-streamed the event. The viral clip can be seen between the 59:53 and 1:00:03 mark in the ABN Telugu livestream video. 

In the original video, just before the edited portion, Reddy can be heard listing poll promises made by the Congress party. He then goes on to say, “KCR (incumbent Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao) held an emergency meeting in Pragathi Bhavan (official residence of KCR) yesterday evening. They discussed that 'people are no longer trusting us' (BRS). They are not trusting our poll promises. Therefore, 'we should buy every vote by giving Rs. 10,000 and two liquor bottles,’ was what KCR decided. I appeal to the people to take the Rs. 10,000 given by KCR. When they come to your doorstep, search their pockets, take whatever they have, and kick them out.”

Congress is the main opposition party in Telangana, while the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is the incumbent ruling party. 

According to a report in The New Indian Express, Reddy alleged that KCR had “decided to buy votes for Rs. 10,000 per vote,” fearing a loss in the elections. At the public meeting at Tungaturthi, he also alleged that KCR is “buying votes” by “providing two liquor bottles to each voter.”

It is to be noted here that while both the BRS and Congress promised various handouts to farmers, women, and senior citizens – for example, the Congress has pledged Rs. 15,000 per acre per year for land owners and tenant farmers if it comes to power – there is no such official announcement by either party to give Rs. 10,000 and two liquor bottles to each voter.

The verdict

An edited video of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President Revanth Reddy was shared to claim that the Congress party will give Rs. 10,000 and two liquor bottles to every voter in the upcoming Telangana elections. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.