Clipped Video of Mallikarjun Kharge’s Speech Viral With Misleading Context

The viral video is clipped. A longer version shows correcting himself and later apologising for his gaffe.

Fact-Check | The video is being shared on the internet with a misleading context.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge's speech is going viral on the internet to take a dig at the leader.

What about the video?: In the eight seconds-long video, Kharge could be heard saying, "Leader like Rahul Gandhi gave his life for the unity of this nation."

Who shared the video?: The incharge of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Information and Technology department, Amit Malviya, shared the video with a claim that said, "It is not right to speak like this about those who made you the President, Kharge ji."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

The post had recorded around 30,000 views at the time of writing this report.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

What is the truth?: The video is clipped and is being shared with misleading context. While Kharge did make the statement, he soon corrected himself and apologised for his gaffe.

What led us to the truth?: We went through Congress' official YouTube channel and found a longer version of Kharge's speech.

• The video premiered on 20 November and its title, when translated to English said, "Mallikarjun Kharge got angry on stage, scolded PM Modi and BJP. Rajasthan Election."

• It showed Kharge addressing a public rally ahead of the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections.

• At around the 11:06 timestamp, Kharge was heard saying, "Our party has been working for the country. Our party had great leaders like Indira Gandhi who sacrificed her life, and leaders like Rahul Gandhi who sacrificed his life for the unity of the nation"

• At this point, he is interrupted by someone and then Kharge is seen correcting himself by saying "Rajiv Gandhi."

"I'm sorry to the people in media and other friends too. Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed his life for the unity of the nation. So, there are people who would sacrifice their lives in the Congress party, and in BJP, there are people who take lives."

Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress party president

Why is the claim misleading?: While Kharge did make the gaffe during his speech, he soon realised his mistake and corrected.

• However, sharing the video without the part where Kharge could be seen apologising makes the claim misleading.

Conclusion: It is clear that a clipped video of Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge is being shared on the internet with misleading context.

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