A video clip (here, here and here) involving Meerut Lok Sabha BJP candidate Arun Govil is being widely circulated on social media platforms. The clip shows Govil allegedly refraining from eating food at a Dalit’s home in Meerut. We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Arun Govil, BJP’s Meerut Lok Sabha candidate, avoided eating food at a Dalit’s home in Meerut.
Fact: Arun Govil did visit a local booth president’s home and a counselor’s home in Bhagwatpura, Meerut on 13 April 2024. He even posted a video detailing his visit on his Facebook page. The video corroborates that it was shot at the same location as the viral video but from a different angle, in which he can be seen eating food. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To authenticate the viral claim, we went through the social media profiles of Arun Govil. On his Facebook page, we found a video (archived link) dated 13 April 2024, which he described as his visit to the residences of a local booth president, Neetu Jatav, and counsellor, Arun Machal Valmiki.
The setting and location of this video matched with the viral video, however, it was filmed from a different angle.
The video clearly shows Govil eating food, contrary to the claim made in the viral video. He also posted this on his official Instagram account.
Govil’s post further clarifies that he had a meal at Neetu Jatav’s home and tea at Arun Machal Valmiki’s residence. News 18, IANS, and Amar Ujala, news outlets, also reported (here, here and here) on this incident, providing video footage that clearly shows Govil eating food.
These clearly indicate that the viral video shows a limited portion of what happened in the house and does not show him eating food there. This was eventually used to promote a false narrative that Govil purposely avoided eating food at a Dalit’s house.
To sum up, the social media claim stating that Arun Govil avoided eating at a Dalit’s home is false. The video does not show the complete event where Govil can be seen eating at the residence of his party colleagues during his visit.
