By: Ishita Goel
April 30 2024
Video of Indian law minister 'predicting Congress win' is clipped and old
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A screenshot of a social media post falsely claiming to show a video of BJP leader Arjun Ram Meghwal saying that the Congress government is going to come to power. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)
Fact-Check
The Verdict Misleading
While Arjun Ram Meghwal did say this ahead of the 2023 Rajasthan state polls, he corrected himself immediately. The viral clip omits this correction.
Claim ID 50e6e5d5
What is the claim?
A clip of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Minister of State (MoS), Ministry of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, speaking about a wind of change in politics has gone viral with a claim that he said the Congress government will come to power. In the viral video, Meghwal says in Hindi, "I have been watching this for a long time. There is a clear indication that the Congress government will come and the BJP..."
In the backdrop of the ongoing Indian general election, a social media user shared the video on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, "BJP MP Arjun Ram Meghwal says. The wind of change is very clear, Congress government is coming." Another wrote, "There is a very clear wind of change, Congress government is coming. —BJP MP Arjun Ram Meghwal." Archive to the posts can be seen here, here, and here.
Screenshots of the viral posts on social media. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)
While Meghwal did say this, it was a slip of tongue and he corrected himself immediately. Further, the statement was made in the context of the Rajasthan Assembly polls, not the Lok Sabha elections.
What are the facts?
We noted that the viral video bore the watermark of the media outlet Rajasthan Tak in the top right corner. Taking a cue from this, we found an extended version of the video on Rajasthan Tak's YouTube channel (archived here) published on September 11, 2023. It was captioned, "Arjun Ram Meghwal that CM Gehlot will be happy after listening to this talk!"
In the video, we could see that while Meghwal does say this, but clearly by accident. The BJP leader corrected himself immediately and said, "Congress’ government is going and BJP’s government is coming. There is change.”
We also found reports about Meghwal’s slip of the tongue. Media outlet News Tak (archived here) shared the extended version of the video on YouTube on September 12, 2023. This version captured the expressions of the other BJP leaders behind him who smile and nod along as he corrected himself.
Hindi newspaper Amar Ujala (archived here) also reported that the video was shot ahead of the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly polls, and Meghwal garnered much attention over his accidental statement, which was also shared on social media by Congress accounts (archived here and here).
Screenshot showing the Congress accounts sharing the video in 2023. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)
This video was shot when Meghwal was speaking about the success of the BJP’s Parivartan Yatra, saying that it showed a shift in trend in Rajasthan. On September 2, 2023, before the Rajasthan elections, the BJP had launched an 18-day long 'Parivartan Sankalp Yatra' that aimed at covering all 200 constituencies in the state in four stages.
The viral video is, therefore, not only clipped but also unrelated to the ongoing Indian general election.
The Rajasthan Assembly election was held on November 25, 2024, and the results were declared on December 3, 2023. The BJP wrested power from the Congress in the state by winning 115 of the 199 contested seats and obtaining a clear majority.
The verdict
The viral video is cropped and an extended version shows Meghwal correcting himself as he says BJP will come to power, not the Congress. Further, the video is from Rajasthan state Assembly elections.