advertisement
A video of Delhi Chief Minister and the national convenor of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Arvind Kejriwal, has been shared by several social media users, including AAP MLA Naresh Balyan, with a claim that it shows the CM's views on punishing rapists.
The claim comes while the Gujarat and Central governments are facing criticism over the premature release of 11 convicted men who were sentenced to life in the Bilkis Bano case. Since AAP is also in the fray for the upcoming Gujarat elections, its leaders have been asked about their views on the matter.
However, we found that the claim is misleading, and the video is clipped. The full video was uploaded on AAP's official Facebook page on 27 February 2020. It showed Kejriwal responding to the accusations against AAP leader Tahir Hussain for his alleged involvement in the northeast Delhi riots.
The claim suggests that clip shows Kejriwal's views on punishing rapists. The video is uploaded with a caption in Hindi, "रेप का ख़िलाफ़ अरविंद केजरीवाल जी का स्टैंड बिल्कुल साफ़ है। ये उनका बयान है। मंडी हाउस में बैठ कर कटिंग चाय पीते हुए लफ़ंगागिरी करने वाले नहीं बतायेंगे कि केजरीवाल को किसपे बोलना है और किसपे नहीं। बयानवीरो को बयान चाहिये। इनकी रोज़ी-रोटी इसी से चलती है।"
(Translation: Arvind Kejriwal's stand against rape is very clear. This is his statement. those who indulge in rhetoric will not tell Kejriwal what matter he should speak on or shouldn't while sitting in Mandi House and drinking tea. These people needed a statement, that's how they sustain their livelihood.)
We extracted the keyframes of the video and performed a reverse image search on one of them using Google Lens.
This led us to a report published on NDTV on 28 February 2020, which carried a longer version of the video. It mentioned that Kejriwal was responding to allegations against his party's leader Tahir Hussain over his alleged involvement in the violence in northeast Delhi over protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
In this video, the CM was heard talking about the 2020 Delhi violence and mentioning that there should not be any politics over national security and violence matters.
He added, "If someone is from AAP or BJP or Congress and they have contributed to inciting the riots or caused them, then they should not be forgiven. So don't leave anyone, even if there is somebody from my cabinet."
It is here when he can be heard making the same statement as seen in the viral at around the 0:35 mark.
The top leadership of the party has so far not made any statements regarding the early release of the convicts. In August, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, in a tweet, criticised the BJP over the release of the convicts and also questioned the safety of women in Gujarat.
More recently, when Sisodia was asked about his views on the case and other minority issues, he said the party's "main focus is on development such as education, schools, hospitals, employment".
Clearly, a clipped video of Arvind Kejriwal talking about riots is being shared falsely linking it with the party's views on punishing rapists.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)