By Srijit Das
A viral video purporting to show Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat saying the RSS is internally opposed to reservations but cannot say anything about it publicly, is cropped and misleading.
BOOM found that the video has been cropped to make the false claim. In the original video Bhagwat debunked an alleged video which made the same claim. The viral video shows him repeating the false claim and has cropped the portion where he said that RSS has consistently supported all reservations that align with the Constitution.
The viral 8-second video shows Bhagwat saying, "the Sangh people speak nicely about reservations outside, but they say in private that we stand against reservations, which we cannot say publicly."
The video is being shared with a caption, "We people of the Sangh oppose reservation from within, but cannot say it openly...!!!!:- Sangh Chief (Mohan Bhagwat) Modi, Yogi, Amit Shah, all the BJP leaders are from the Sangh, will they be able to provide reservation?"
(Original Text in Hindi: हम संघ वाले अंदर-अंदर से आरक्षण का विरोध करते हैं, लेकिन बाहर आ के बोल नहीं सकते...!!!!:- संघ प्रमुख (मोहन भागवत) मोदी योगी अमित शाह बीजेपी के सारे नेता संघ के हैं क्या वह आरक्षण दें पाएंगे?)
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a keyword search on X and found that the original video was posted from the official X handle of news wire agency Asian News International (ANI) on April 28, 2024.
The viral video has been maliciously cropped and shared with misleading context. In the original video, Bhagwat repeats the claim made by an alleged video.
The video was posted by ANI with a caption saying, "Hyderabad, Telangana: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says, "A video is being circulated that RSS is against reservation and we cannot speak about this outside. Now this is completely false. The Sangh has been supporting all reservations as per the Constitution since the beginning..."
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In the video report, Bhagwat can be heard saying, "Yesterday, as I arrived here, I heard that a video is in circulation alleging that the Sangh people speak nicely about reservations outside, but they say in private that we stand against reservations, which we cannot say publicly. This is completely untrue and false. Ever since the existence of reservations, the Sangh has fully supported all the reservations which are in accordance with the Constitution. The Sangh also says that reservation should persist as long as it feels necessary for the people for whom it was made or is given for social causes, and as long as discrimination exists, till then reservations should stay in place."
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