No, pro-Modi chants were not raised at Rajasthan Chief Minister’s election rally

By: Rajini KG
November 24 2023

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Screenshot of the viral video circulating online. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

Context

Assembly elections in the North Indian state of Rajasthan are scheduled to be held on Friday, November 25, and incumbent Congress and main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been campaigning with full force across the state. As the polling day inches closer, a video of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been circulating on social media with the claim that chants in favor of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were raised at a Congress rally. Rishi Bagree, a social media user with a history of sharing false and misleading claims, shared the video with the caption, “Public in Rajasthan greeted CM Gehlot with Modi-Modi chants.” In the video, as CM Gehlot starts to speak, the crowd appears to be chanting ‘Modi Modi,’ and he is heard criticizing the crowd. The post (archived here) had over 385,000 views and 4,900 likes at the time of publishing. Many users have shared the video with the same claim on Facebook as well.

Screenshot of the viral video circulating online. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the video has been digitally edited; the pro-Modi chants have been superimposed on the original version.

In fact

A reverse-image search led us to the longer version of Ashok Gehlot’s speech, published on his official YouTube channel on November 22. According to the video title and description, Gehlot was speaking at a Congress rally held in Malpura in Rajasthan’s Tonk district. 

Gehlot had addressed a public gathering to support Ghasilal Chaudhary, the Congress candidate from Todaraisingh-Malpura. The chief minister spoke about the Congress’s guarantees on cattle rearers, the Griha Lakshmi scheme, and reducing the price of LPG cylinders. Rajya Sabha MP Deependra Singh Hooda was also present at the rally.

Around the 2:15 timestamp, we can see the exact visual from the viral clip. Here, Gehlot is speaking about Congress’ guarantee of providing ₹10,000 per annum to the female head of the family. Standing next to him on stage is Congress candidate Ghasilal Chaudhary. We listened to the video closely and heard no pro-Modi chants.

The video shows that some people (not seen in the frame) were perhaps yelling as Gehlot spoke. Distracted by the shouts, Gehlot asks: “Who are they?” and then looks out of the frame and asks, “Have you come in support of him or not?” He also signals them to sit down. Next to him, Chaudhary also gestures with his hand, asking people to settle down. The video shows that some people could be heard hooting; however, no ‘Modi Modi’ slogans could be heard.

The livestream of Gehlot’s rally was also shared on the Congress-run YouTube channel ‘INC TV’ on November 22. The now-viral clip starts around the 2:40 timestamp. Here, too, no chants in support of Narendra Modi could be heard.

The verdict

Original videos of Gehlot speaking at a Congress rally show that no pro-Modi chants were raised by the crowd. The alleged slogans seem to have been digitally added to the video, which was then shared with a false claim.