A video circulating on social media shows the Karnataka state football team allegedly waiting outside CM Siddaramaiah’s residence for a meet and greet after winning the Santosh Trophy. The claim accompanying the video states that the CM made them wait for almost 3 hours. This article aims to fact-check the claim.
Claim: Karnataka football team made to wait outside CM Siddaramaiah’s residence and made to sit outside for 3 hours.
Fact: The video is from March 2023, when the CM of Karnataka was Basavaraj Bommai during the BJP government. The Karnataka state football team did meet CM Bommai after their Santosh Trophy win, and reportedly, they were made to wait outside his residence for approximately 1.5 hours. Therefore, the claim made in the post is False.
To investigate the claim, we conducted a keyword search on the internet, which led us to a news report published by International Business Times in March 2023. According to the report, Basavaraj Bommai, the Chief Minister of Karnataka at that time, met with the players of the Karnataka State Football team after their Santosh Trophy win (here and here).
The players were indeed made to wait outside the CM’s residence for approximately 1.5 hours and were not invited inside. The CM met them on a footpath outside his residence. Kannada Language news outlet Asianet News too reported this incident.
Further evidence can be found on the Instagram page of the Karnataka State Football Association ( KSFA ), which posted pictures from the meet and greet with the then CM Bommai on 17 March 2023. By comparing the players in the viral video with the players in the association’s photos, it is clear that these show the same set of players.
Based on this substantial evidence, it is evident that the viral video is from March 2023, before Siddaramaiah was sworn in as the CM of Karnataka.
To sum up, the claim that CM Siddaramaiah made the football team wait outside his residence for 3 hours is false. The actual incident involves former CM Bommai.
