A video is being shared online featuring Rahul Gandhi, where he purportedly asserts that his plan involves redistributing the nation’s wealth among minorities (here & here). In the 42-second clip, Gandhi is heard stating that a comprehensive “X-ray of the country” will reveal to minorities their exact share in national wealth. He mentions conducting a financial and institutional survey to determine which demographic currently possesses the wealth of India, followed by a “revolutionary” initiative to redistribute resources fairly. This article aims to verify the authenticity of the video and the claim linked to it.
Claim: Video of Rahul Gandhi claiming to redistribute the wealth of the nation among the minorities.
Fact: The complete video reveals that Rahul Gandhi discussed caste census and wealth redistribution among backward classes, Dalits, Adivasis, economically backward general castes, and minorities. However, this part of his speech is edited to make it appear as though he focused exclusively on minorities. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
Recently, headlines have been dominated by statements from Prime Minister Modi suggesting that Congress party plans to redistribute India’s wealth to those who have more children, allegedly referring to a particular community. It is in this context that a video has been shared alleging Rahul Gandhi’s plans to redistribute the nation’s wealth solely among minorities.
A Google search using relevant keywords led us to the complete footage of the video on Rahul Gandhi’s official YouTube channel. He gave this speech in Hyderabad during the launch of the Congress party’s manifesto. From the full speech, it is evident that Rahul Gandhi was referring to the implementation of a Socio-Economic and Caste Census. Following this, backward classes, Dalits, Adivasis, economically backward general castes, and minorities would have the opportunity to understand their respective contribution to the country.
At the 31:25 mark in the video, Rahul Gandhi speaks in Hindi. A rough translation of his words is: “When our government comes into power, we will extend the caste census, similar to what was done in Telangana, to the entire country. We will conduct a comprehensive scan of the nation. As a result, backward classes, Dalits, tribals, the economically poor from the general category, and minorities will understand their respective shares in the country’s resources.”
News articles that reported Rahul Gandhi’s statements can be viewed here and here. From this, it is clear that the segment where Gandhi mentions “lower backward classes, Dalits, and tribals, the poor general caste people” has been omitted, and only the word “minorities” is retained in the viral clip.
To sum it up, Rahul Gandhi’s discussion on caste census is edited to suggest he advocates wealth redistribution solely among minorities.
