Fact-Check: 2019 Clip Of Mamata Banerjee Reacting to 'Jai Shri Ram' Resurfaces
The video dates back to 30 May 2019, when West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee was met with 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans.
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A video of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stepping out of a vehicle to chide people raising 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans is being shared on social media.
The Quint received a query to verify this claim on its WhatsApp tipline.
(Archives of more claims can be seen here, here, and here.)
But..?: The video is being shared without context. The video dates back to May 2019, when people in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas raised the slogan while Banerjee was passing through the area.
How did we find out?: In the video, we heard Banerjee say "criminal." Taking a cue from this, we used relevant keywords to look for more information regarding the viral video.
This led us to a report by India Today, published on 30 May 2019, which carried a screenshot of the viral video.
The video was published in May 2019.
(Source: India Today/Altered by The Quint)
It mentioned that Banerjee was in the North 24 Parganas district, where people raised 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans when her car passed through the Bhatpara area.
The article carried a video of the incident from a different angle in a X (formerly Twitter) post, where Banerjee was speaking to news agency ANI.
We saw the same set of people standing in similar spots in both videos.
(Source: Facebook/India Today/Altered by The Quint)
She told the publication that those raising the slogans were "outsiders" and people working for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Quint had also carried a report on the incident in a 2019 story, accompanied by a video.
In the video, Banerjee could be heard asking police to note the names of the sloganeering people.
What happened after?: The West Bengal police filed an FIR against "unknown people" for "wrongful restraint" and "criminal intimidation."
Conducting night-long raids the following day, the police picked up several people from the area. A total of eight people were arrested, who were later released on bail, The Quint reported.
Speaking to The Times of India, the police commissioner denied any connection between the FIR for 'Jai Shree Ram' slogans and these arrests.
Conclusion: The video of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stepping out of her vehicle to confront people raising 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans is from 2019.
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