A video (here, here and here) is going viral on social media with the claim that Mamata Banerjee, in a speech delivered in Bengali, told the people of West Bengal to “stay poor” and “eat whatever food you have at home and survive.” It is being alleged that she expects the people of West Bengal to remain poor and is urging them to survive on whatever they have. Let’s find out the reality behind this video.
Claim: The viral video shows Mamata Banerjee telling the people of West Bengal to “stay poor, eat bhaat-ruti (rice and roti), and be happy with whatever you have at your home,” implying she wants the public to remain in poverty.
Fact: The video is clipped. In reality, Mamata Banerjee made these remarks while addressing Trinamool Congress workers during the party’s Martyrs’ Day rally, urging them to live simply, avoid greed, and serve the people with honesty. Her comments were not directed at the general public. Hence the claim is MISLEADING.
To find the reality behind the viral claim, we performed a reverse image search of the keyframes from the video, which led us to the full version of the video uploaded on the AITC’s official YouTube channel on 21 July 2024. The video is titled “Paying tribute to the Martyrs of 21st July Shahid Dibas at Dharmatala”, and it shows Mamata Banerjee addressing a public meeting organised to commemorate the martyrs of 21st July at Dharmatala.
In the original video, the viral clip appears around the 2:58:13 timestamp. When watched with full context from 2:57:53, Mamata Banerjee can be heard saying: “I will be instructing all MLAs, MPs, and municipalities—there should be no further complaints against anyone from the party. If there are, we will take necessary action.” She then continues with the now-viral statement, saying: “I want you to live simply—make do with whatever you already have at home. Don’t run after greed. We must not be greedy; we should stand by the people as their true companions.” This makes it clear that her remarks were meant for Trinamool Congress leaders and workers, urging them to live simply and serve the people with honesty—not a directive to the general public to remain poor.
We also found news reports (here and here), one from The Times of India, and another from the Indian Express that confirm the same context. According to these reports, during the Trinamool Congress’s first Martyrs’ Day rally after its strong performance in the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged party workers to embrace simplicity and integrity. Addressing a massive crowd, she said, “Stay poor, eat bhaat-ruti, and be happy with whatever you have at your home,” underscoring the need to stay away from greed and corruption. The rally focused on introspection, public service, and rebuilding trust. She also issued a strong warning to party leaders about complaints and misconduct. These reports clearly show that her message was aimed at TMC workers, not the general public, and that the viral video has been clipped and shared out of context.
To sum up, a video of Mamata Banerjee addressing TMC leaders and workers has been misrepresented as if she were speaking to the general public in West Bengal.
