Several posts (here and here) accompanied by a video of Rahul Gandhi asking people to bang utensils and switch on mobile phone lights while addressing a public meeting are being widely shared across social media platforms. In the video, Rahul Gandhi can be heard saying, “Thali bajao, thali bajao, thali bajao… Mobile phone ki light on karo, light on karo.” Social media users sharing the video are mocking Rahul Gandhi, saying he makes no sense. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video showing Rahul Gandhi asking people to bang utensils and switch on mobile phone lights in the middle of his speech while addressing a public meeting.
Fact: On 16 November 2023, Rahul Gandhi addressed a public meeting held in Nohar city of Hanumangarh district in Rajasthan. The original video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech has been clipped between specific timestamps and shared with a false narrative. In the original video, we can clearly see Rahul Gandhi criticizing PM Modi for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He referred to Modi’s call for citizens to bang thalis (plates) and switch on mobile phone torchlights during the crisis. Gandhi questioned the effectiveness of such actions when people were suffering due to oxygen shortages and lack of medical treatment. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we conducted a Google reverse image search using keyframes from the video. This search led us to a video uploaded on News Tak’s official YouTube Channel on 17 November 2023. The description of this video reads, “Rahul Gandhi imitated Modi in the middle of the rally, said, turn on the lights… clap…!” (translated from Hindi to English).
Upon reviewing the entire video, we discovered that the viral clip begins at the timestamp 01:13 and concludes at 01:21. In the video, we can observe that originally, in his speech, Rahul Gandhi said, “Do you remember? During COVID, someone’s friend, someone’s brother, someone’s father suffered from the disease. Millions of people suffered from COVID. What did the Congress party do? Bhilwara model. We provided food packets at home. Youth Congress worked hard and delivered oxygen cylinders and medicines to homes. What did Narendra Modi say? ‘Thali bajao, thali bajao, thali bajao… Mobile phone ki light on karo, light on karo.’ What does it mean? Does this make sense?”. (translated from Hindi to English).The video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech uploaded on the official website of the Indian National Congress on 16 November 2023, titled “Shri Rahul Gandhi, MP and former Congress President addressed a public rally in Nohar | Hanumangarh | Rajasthan,” can be viewed here. In these videos, the viral clip begins at the timestamp 05:42 and concludes at 05:50.
Subsequently, we also found The Telegraph report dated 17 November 2023. According to the report, while addressing public rallies in Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He referred to Modi’s call for citizens to bang thalis (plates) and switch on mobile phone torchlights during the crisis. Gandhi questioned the effectiveness of such actions when people were suffering due to oxygen shortages and lack of medical treatment. From this information, it is evident that the original video has been edited and is being shared with a false narrative.
To sum up, a clipped video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech criticizing PM Modi’s measures during COVID-19 is being shared with a false narrative.
