Fact-Check: Old Clip of Uma Bharti Calling PM Modi ‘Vinaash Purush’ Resurfaces

The video dates back to at least 2011, when Bharti was not a part of the BJP.

Fact-check: An old video of Uma Bharti speaking against PM Modi has gone viral on social media again.

(Photo: The Quint)

A video of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'vinaash purush' (destructive man) is going viral on social media.

• In the two minute-long video, Bharti can be heard saying Modi had lied about development in Gujarat, adding that the state had become "fear-stricken."

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: The video is old and dates back to at least 2011, when Bharti was not a part of the BJP.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on some of the keyframes of the viral video using Google search engine.

• This led us to an old YouTube video shared by a channel named 'BJPAAJTAK' on 27 July 2011.

• The viral video matched this old video.

• We then performed a relevant keyword search on Google using "Uma Bharti, PM Modi and Vinaash Purush".

• This led us to a YouTube video shared by ABP News on 17 April 2014 and this matched the video video too.

• The results also led us to several reports by NDTV, The Times of India and The Indian Express shared in April 2017.

• It stated that the Congress party released a three-year-old video footage of Bharti where she is insulting PM Modi.

• Bharti had then filed a complaint with the Election Commission against the Congress for "misusing an old statement."

• Speaking to NDTV, Bharti had then also admitted that she had made the comments after she was expelled from the party.

• Bharti had been expelled from BJP in 2005 after a public spat with veteran LK Advani, and had rejoined the saffron party in 2011.

We had debunked the same claim in 2019 and it can be read here.

Conclusion: An old video of Uma Bharti speaking against PM Modi has gone viral on social media again.

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