A video featuring Congress leader Digvijaya Singh discussing Hindutva and Sanatana Dharma has gone viral, with the claim that he has changed his stance on Hindutva and Sanatana Dharma that he defamed earlier to gain votes in the 2023 Madhya Pradesh elections. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Digvijaya Singh changed his stance on Sanatana Dharma for political gain in 2023 Madhya Pradesh elections.
Fact: Based on news reports and the original versions of the clips available in the viral video, we found that Digvijaya Singh has consistently expressed his adherence to Sanatana Dharma and that it is different from Hindutva. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
We began by sourcing the original clips in the viral video to verify the claim, which we found by performing keyword searches online.
The first clip (here and here), from May 2023, shows Digvijaya Singh stating, “My dharma is Sanatana Dharma; we don’t consider Hindutva as a dharma.” In this speech, he elaborates on the differences between Sanatana Dharma and Hindutva.
The second clip, from 2019, features Digvijaya Singh condemning crimes by individuals wearing saffron (Bhagwa) clothes, asserting that such actions tarnish Sanatana Dharma.
The third clip, the most recent, shows him expressing devotion to Sanatana Dharma and naming Lord Ram as his favourite deity.
Despite the sequencing of the clips and text in the viral video implying a change in stance, our investigation found that Digvijaya Singh consistently differentiated between Hindutva and Sanatana Dharma.
In a 2019 statement to the Economic Times, he affirmed his devotion to Sanatana Dharma while asserting that Hindutva is not part of the Hindu religion but a term with political connotations.
Therefore, the claim that Digvijaya Singh changed his stance for political gains is misleading. His statements in the viral video align with his past expressions, indicating a consistent stance on Sanatana Dharma.
To sum up, Digvijaya Singh’s statements in the viral video do not reflect a change in his stance on Sanatana Dharma.
