Clipped video shared to claim Mallikarjun Kharge said Congress will redistribute citizens’ wealth

By: Ankita Kulkarni
May 8 2024

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Screenshot of viral posts shared on social media. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

A 28-second clip of Indian National Congress (INC) President Mallikarjun Kharge addressing a rally is circulating on social media platforms with a claim that he accepted that Congress will "redistribute citizens’ wealth" if voted to power after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The video shows Kharge saying in Hindi,"You know what Congress people are doing? People of the Congress are entering your homes, breaking cupboards, taking out all your money, and redistributing it to others. They are distributing it to Muslims; those who have more children will get more. Brother, what should I do if you don't have children?" (Translated to English)

Posts sharing the video have claimed that it shows Kharge admitting the party’s plans. Archived versions of similar posts can be viewed here, here, here, and here.  

Screenshot of viral posts shared on social media. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, we found that  Kharge's video has been clipped and shared with a misleading narrative. The original video shows Kharge quoting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

What did we find?

A reverse image search on a screenshot from the viral clip led us to a YouTube video (archive here) live streamed on Indian National Congress' official channel on May 2, 2024. Kharge was addressing an election rally in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 

At the 31:49 timestamp, Kharge speaks about the Congress manifesto for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. He states that in the manifesto, "We only said that a caste-based census will be conducted to know how many educated people are there in each community, how many graduates are there, how much is the income, what is the per capita income; to see this, we are going to do a caste-based census."

He adds, "So Modi saheb (sir) immediately said — You know what Congress people are doing? Congress people are entering your home, breaking cupboards, taking out all your money, and redistributing it to others. They are distributing it to Muslims; those who have more children will get more. Brother, if you don't have children, what should I do?"

This portion has been clipped and circulated with a false narrative. 

In the video, Kharge continues, “But we are not going to redistribute (anything). We are not taking away anything and giving it to others like this. Forgive me, but what Modi sir is saying is wrong. It is wrong for the society, wrong for the country, and wrong for all of us." 

Modi’s statement on wealth distribution

Kharge was referring to statements made by the prime minister (archive here) during his election rallies. Modi, while addressing an election rally in the northern state of Rajasthan's Banswara, had questioned the Congress over its manifesto and said that the party wants to "redistribute people's wealth to Muslims". Modi also remarked (archive here) that "Congress will snatch people's belongings, even the mangalsutra (sacred thread worn by married women) of women." 

Multiple Congress leaders, including Kharge, criticized the comment and wrote an open letter to Modi stating, "You are being misinformed by your advisors about things that are not even written in our manifesto." The Congress party has also filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India, stating that Modi’s remarks on wealth distribution were “divisive, malicious and targeted a particular religious community."

Logically Facts has published several fact-checks on the claims surrounding the Congress manifesto and the allegation of "wealth redistribution", which can be read here. 

The verdict

An edited video of Mallikarjun Kharge quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been shared as his admission of Congress' plans of wealth redistributing to Muslims.