By Anmol Alphonso
A video of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Mahila Morcha in Madhya Pradesh (MP) protesting outside the residence of the state Congress chief Jitu Patwari for his remarks against a female BJP leader is viral with a false claim that it shows Congress workers tearing down hoardings of Hindu deities.
The Phase 4 voting for the Lok Sabha election in Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to take place on May 13 for eight seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have in their campaign speeches, been targeting the opposition especially claiming that the Congress party is 'anti-Hindu'.
The video is being shared with a caption in Hindi which roughly translates to, "Jai Shri Ram. Congress party leaders dance with shoes on the Hindu god and goddess of Sanatan religion. Hindu people understand the meaning of voting for Congress party since 65 years. I am an Sanatani Hindu. I will die but me and my family are Congress. Will never vote party"
(In Hindi - जय जय श्री राम कांग्रेस पार्टी के नेताओं सनातन धर्म के हिंदू देवी देवता के ऊपर जूते से डांस करते हैं हिंदू लोगों ने 65 वर्ष से कोंग्रेस पार्टी को वोट देना का मतलब समझों. में सनातनी हिन्दू हूँ l मै मर जाउंगा लेकिन मै और मेरा परिवार कोंग्रेस पार्टी को वोट कभी भी नहीं देंगे )
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The same video is being widely shared on Facebook with the same misleading claim.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from May 2024 when BJP's Mahila Morcha wing in MP was protesting outside the residence of state Congress chief Jitu Patwari, for his remarks against party leader Imarti Devi.
Taking a hint from the BJP scarfs being worn by the woman standing on the hoardings, we ran a keyword search on Google with "bjp woman workers tearing posters", and found a news report by Free Press Journal with the same visuals seen in the viral video.
FPJ reported on May 3, 2024 that women from the BJP Mahila Morcha wing staged a protest outside Congress state chief Jitu Patwari's residence in Indore raising objections against his indecent remarks about former minister and BJP leader Imarti Devi.
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The news report included an X post from May 3, 2024, carrying the same visuals as in the viral video. The caption in Hindi roughly translates to, "Look at the shameful act of BJP Mahila Morcha, out of hatred and disgust towards Congress, they even trampled the pictures of Lord Shri Ramchandra Ji and Hanuman Ji under their feet.."
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Patwari apologised on May 3, 2024 to Imarti Devi after outrage over his remarks claiming that his statement was used in the wrong context.
