A video of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s interview is going viral on social media, allegedly claiming that he said Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray is the fake heir (nakli santaan) of the Shiv Sena founder, late Balasaheb Thackeray (here, here, & here). In the video, Kejriwal can be heard saying in Hindi, “Uddhav Thackeray jo hain, woh apne baap ki ‘Nakli Santaan’ hain”. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Arvind Kejriwal saying that Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray is not the real child of the late Balasaheb Thackeray.
Fact: This viral video clip has been taken from an interview of Arvind Kejriwal with India TV. The full video was uploaded by India TV on YouTube on 24 May 2024. A portion of this video has been clipped and is being shared out of context to spread misinformation. In the original video, Arvind Kejriwal was referring to comments made by PM Modi about Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To learn more about the viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using keyframes from the video. This search led us to the full version of the interview video, which was uploaded on the official YouTube channel of India TV on 24 May 2024, with the title: ‘Arvind Kejriwal Exclusive Interview: From Liquor Scam to Maliwal Case… The Sharpest Questions to Kejriwal’ (translated from Hindi to English).
In this interview, at the 16:40 timestamp, Kejriwal questions on what basis PM Modi, after 10 years in power, is asking voters to support him and his party. He mentions that in his election campaign in Mumbai, PM Modi talks about Sharad Pawar, then says that Uddhav Thackeray is not the real child of his father and asks voters to support him and his party. The viral video clip starts at 16:51 timestamp. It ends at 16:57, where Arvind Kejriwal referred to what PM Modi said about Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray during his 2024 Lok Sabha elections campaign. During the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, while addressing a public meeting in May 2024, PM Modi made comments about Uddhav Thackeray, calling him Shiv Sena’s ‘nakli santaan’ (fake heir) (here, here, & here).
To sum up, a clipped video is being shared out of context, claiming that Arvind Kejriwal called Uddhav Thackeray the ‘nakli santaan’ (fake heir) of Balasaheb Thackeray.
