Clipped Video of Yogi Adityanath Shared To Claim He Praised Akhilesh Yadav

The viral video dates back to 2017 when Yogi Adityanath criticised the then UP CM.

Fact-Check | Yogi Adityanath didn't appreciate Akhilesh Yadav.

(Photo: The Quint)

A clipped video of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from 2017 has gone viral on social media to claim that he praised Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav and said that he was capable of doing anything.

We, however, found that the viral viral video was clipped from a longer interview with ABP News conducted ahead of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. In the longer video, Adityanath doesn't praise but rather criticizes him and claims that he is capable of insulting anyone, including his father.

CLAIM

Those sharing the viral video said, "अखिलेश यादव कुछ भी कर सकते हैं:-अजय सिंह बिष्ट".

[Translation: Akhilesh Yadav can do anything: Ajay Singh Bisht]

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

Archives of more such Facebook posts can be found here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We noticed the ABP News mic in the viral video and but the logo on the mic was the old one, that was changed in December 2020.

Taking a cue from that, we conducted a reverse image search of a screenshot from the viral video along with keywords of "Yogi Adiyanath and ABP News". We found the interview on ABP News' website, published on 3 March 2017.

A link to the news report can be found here.

(Source: ABP News/Screenshot)

The viral video could be seen from 3 minutes and 3 seconds. In the interview, the reporter asks Adityanath, "How do you see Akhilesh Yadav this time because he even challenged you. When you talk of development, you say that there is no electricity, then he said that Baba (Yogi) should touch the electric wire and see it."

Adityanath, in response, said, "That is one of his qualities, Akhilesh Yadav can do anything. The person who can forcibly throw his father off the cycle, that person can show any kind of behavior with us."

On watching the entire clip, it becomes clear that Adityanath is not praising Akhilesh, but on the contrary, was being sarcastic.

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