Following the swearing-in ceremony of Mohan Yadav, the BJP MLA from Ujjain South, as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on 13 December 2023, a video alleging that it depicts Mohan Yadav warning Muslims about purportedly raising anti-national slogans in Ujjain is being shared widely. In the video, the individual can be heard saying that anyone raising slogans like “Pakistan Zindabad” on Indian soil will face severe consequences and be dealt with firmly. This article aims to fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video depicting Mohan Yadav, the recently appointed Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, warning Muslims about making anti-national slogans.
Fact: The person featured in the video is identified as Rameshwar Sharma, the BJP MLA representing the Bhopal Huzur assembly constituency. News reports indicate that Rameshwar Sharma made the controversial comments in response to allegations against Muslims for supposedly raising anti-national slogans in Ujjain, in August 2021. The video has nothing to do with the newly elected chief minister, Mohan Yadav. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On 13 December 2023, Mohan Yadav, representing the Ujjain South constituency, was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Contrary to the viral video’s portrayal, the person issuing warnings to Muslims is not Mohan Yadav but another BJP MLA from Madhya Pradesh. It’s worth noting that this video is not recent but from 2021.
A Google search using pertinent keywords yielded news articles connected to the viral video. According to these reports, the person featured in the video is identified as Rameshwar Sharma, the BJP MLA representing the Bhopal Huzur assembly constituency. Additionally, the reports indicate that Rameshwar Sharma made controversial comments in response to allegations against Muslims for supposedly raising anti-national slogans in Ujjain.
In August 2021, reports surfaced that during the Muharram procession in Ujjain, ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans were raised by miscreants. Later the Muharram procession’s organizers released a video where people can be heard shouting “Qazi Sahab zindabad”. Following this the Ujjain police then released a 10-minute clip of the same event in which people can be heard shouting “Pakistan zindabad” and “Qazi Sahab zindabad”. Later the police had booked 16 people on sedition charges in connection with the incident (here & here).
Rameshwar Sharma’s controversial remarks in the viral video are a reaction to the aforementioned incident. A few other news reports related to Rameshwar Sharma’s controversial remarks can be viewed here & here. The video is erroneously linked to the newly elected chief minister, Mohan Yadav. A comparison of images between Rameshwar Sharma and Mohan Yadav makes it clear that the individual making these statements against Muslims in the video is BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma, not the newly elected chief minister.
To sum it up, Madhya Pradesh MLA Rameshwar Sharma’s old video is erroneously linked to the newly elected Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
