Update (18 December 2023): Another video clip of former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot saying,“..when Mohan Bhagwat and Narendra Modi can speak about Hindu Rashtra, why shouldn’t I speak about Khalistan..” is viral on social media. As debunked in the following article, the viral video is an edited clip from a speech of Ashok Gehlot from April 2023. In the original video, he was seen talking about Khalistani activist Amritpal Singh and how BJPs Hindu Rashtra idealogy led to the rise of people like Amritpal.
A video of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is being widely shared on social media with a claim implying that he is supporting Waris Punjab De (WPD) chief Amritpal Singh and the Khalistan movement. Factly has received the same video on its WhatsApp tipline number (+91 92470 52470) with a request to verify the authenticity of the clip. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot spoke in support of Khalistan movement
Fact: The video is clipped. In the original video, Gehlot quotes Singh’s statements and points them as dangerous to the country. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
On relevant keyword search, we found that the video was of a party workers meeting held in Bharatpur on 31 March 2023. From the original video published by Dainik Bhaskar and a YouTube video by a news channel, we found Gehlot saying that Bhagwat and PM Modi spoke about the Hindu nation and this gave Amritpal Singh the courage to speak about Khalisthan. In fact, he expresses his concern over the demands of the Khalisthan.
In the original video, Gehlot further stated that this is very dangerous for our country as for the first time in history someone stated that if we talk about a Hindu nation why shouldn’t they create something for their own communities? Tomorrow the southern states will start saying the same. We should worry about the future of our country. His speech was published in news articles (here and here)
To sum up, a clipped video is being shared as Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot supports the separatist Khalistan movement.
