A June 2022 video of Tauqeer Raza praising CM Yogi is shared, falsely linking it to the September 2025 Bareilly violence
On 26 September 2025, violence erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly (here, here, and here) during a protest against police action on people who carried ‘I love Muhammad’ posters during an Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession in Kanpur on 4 September 2025. Soon after that, security forces were deployed to control the situation. As per the reports, a video of an incident where police chased away people who took part in an ‘I Love Muhammad’ procession in Mau District was shared on social media. On 27 September 2025, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested eight persons in relation to the violence in Bareilly, including Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) President Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, who called for a demonstration. The police were examining 92 pieces of footage of the violence, showing crowds breaking barriers and scuffles, while 150 CCTV cameras were being re-examined, and new suspects were continuously being identified.
Amid the September 2025 Bareilly violence, a video is going viral on social media (here, here, and here) claiming to show Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) President Tauqeer Raza praising Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. In the video, he can be heard saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take inspiration from Yogi Adityanath on how to fulfil Rajdharma. He also mentions that despite having differences with Yogi Adityanath, he will praise the Chief Minister for the work done for the betterment of the state. The video is being circulated with the claim that it was recorded after the police action during the September 2025 Bareilly violence. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.
Claim: The video shows Tauqeer Raza praising CM Yogi Adityanath following the police action during the September 2025 Bareilly violence.
Fact: The video predates the September 2025 Bareilly violence and is unrelated to these incidents. It is from 19 June 2022, in which Tauqeer Raza criticises the Modi government’s Agnipath scheme and former BJP leader Nupur Sharma’s remarks about Prophet Muhammad. He also praised Yogi Adityanath and his governance for following the principles of Rajdharma. Multiple media reports from June 2022 confirm that Tauqeer Raza made these remarks during a protest at Islamia College Ground in Bareilly. He made similar statements in the past, including in July 2024, but has not made any such statement following the 26 September 2025 Bareilly violence. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to an extended version of the same video uploaded on Kanak News’ YouTube channel on 20 June 2022, with the viral clip appearing at the 07:35 timestamp. This confirms that the video predates the September 2025 Bareilly violence and is unrelated to these incidents. In the video, Tauqeer Raza criticises the Modi government’s Agnipath scheme and former BJP leader Nupur Sharma’s controversial remarks about Prophet Muhammad. He also accuses the central government of promoting divisive and discriminatory politics. Referring to the Yogi government’s action against Hindu youths who caused a disturbance in a mosque while wearing skull caps, he says that Modi should take inspiration from the Yogi government on how to fulfil the duties of the state and praises Yogi Adityanath for his work, despite acknowledging their differences.
We also found several media reports (here, here) from June 2022 covering this incident. According to these reports, on 19 June 2022, Tauqeer Raza participated in a protest at Islamia College Ground in Bareilly against alleged controversial remarks about Prophet Muhammad. During the protest, he made comments praising Yogi Adityanath for following the principles of Rajdharma despite their differences.
He made similar remarks about Yogi Adityanath on other occasions, including in July 2024, but has not made any such statement following the 26 September 2025 Bareilly violence.
To sum up, a June 2022 video of Tauqeer Raza praising CM Yogi is shared, falsely linking it to the September 2025 Bareilly violence.