Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is currently underway, with various leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, addressing the yatra. A video of Kharge addressing the public is circulating on social media, where he allegedly stated, “As always, Congress divides the country. It divides the country in the name of caste.” Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Mallikarjun Kharge said “As always, Congress divides the country. It divides the country in the name of caste” in a public gathering.
Fact: This video is from a public meeting held during the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Aurangabad, Bihar, on 15 February 2024. In the original video, Kharge stated that “the caste census will provide valuable information on the distribution and conditions of people from various castes and communities since independence. We have requested a caste census for this purpose. What’s wrong with it? Modi always claims that Congress divides the country based on caste, but when have we done so?” The video has been clipped between the timestamps 13:13 and 13:18 and shared. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On performing a relevant keyword search regarding the claim, we found from the official YouTube channel of the Indian National Congress that this video is from a public meeting held during the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Aurangabad, Bihar, on 15 February 2024.
On listening to the full video, we found that Kharge was talking about the purpose of Congress’ demand for a caste census and Prime Minister Modi’s remarks on caste census. He stated, “Brothers, Rahul Gandhi, and our party share the same demand: a caste census. If our party comes to power, we will conduct it. This census will provide valuable information on the distribution and conditions of people from various castes and communities since independence. It will help us understand the educational and economic progress of different groups, including backward communities, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, minorities, and those below the poverty line. We have requested a caste census for this purpose. What’s wrong with it? Modi always claims that Congress divides the country based on caste, but when have we done so? Our goal is to ensure justice for all.” Kharge’s speech on the Official website of the Indian National Congress also mentions this.
News reports also covered Mallikarjun Kharge’s speech in Aurangabad, Bihar (here and here). Our investigation reveals that the authentic video has been edited between the timestamps 13:13 and 13:18 and was shared to disseminate misinformation.
To sum up, a clipped video of Mallikarjun Kharge is being shared, alleging that he acknowledged that the Congress party divides country in the name of caste.
