A video going viral on social media (here, here, and here) shows members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) singing a bhajan (Devotional song) beginning with “Shri Ram Jai Ram” during a CPI(M) event. The video shows individuals performing the song on a stage adorned with the party’s flags and posters, accompanied by musical instruments. Let’s verify the truth behind the video in this article.
Claim: A video shows CPI(M) members singing a bhajan on a stage decorated with party flags and posters, accompanied by musical instruments.
Fact: The viral video is edited. We found the original video that was uploaded on the CPIM West Bengal Facebook group dated 19 November 2024. The post revealed the location as Tekhali Bazar, Nandigram Block 1, East Midnapore, West Bengal, during a protest against violence against women, inflation, unemployment, and housing issues. The individuals on stage can be heard singing the old Hindi song “Neel Gagan Par Udte Badal”, and not any devotional song. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to an X post (archive) dated 19 November 2024, featuring the same video. In the post, the individuals on stage can be heard singing the old Hindi film song “Neel Gagan Par Udte Badal”, originally sung by Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle. The caption reads: “Employees of Trinamool Congress’s IT cell. Meanwhile, they’re spreading fake news against @CPIM_WESTBENGAL 24×7.”
Taking clues from the X post, we used relevant keywords and found the same video (archive) on the CPIM West Bengal Facebook group dated 19 November 2024. The post identified the location as Tekhali Bazar, Nandigram Block 1, East Midnapore, West Bengal, during a protest against violence against women, inflation, unemployment, and housing issues.
We also found the same video and pictures on the Facebook handle of Paritosh Pattanayak, a CPI(M) member, dated 14 November 2024, from the protest at Tekhali Bazar, Nandigram Block 1, East Midnapore, West Bengal.
To sum up, a video showing CPI(M) West Bengal members singing a devotional song on stage is edited.
