Fact Check: Viral Video Of Kharge’s Comment On Unemployment Shared With Misleading Claim
In his address at a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the Modi government for the highest inflation and unemployment in the last 45 years. Kharge emphasised that these economic challenges occurred during the Modi era, countering the narrative of ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai’. His use of the word ‘Kab’ (when) has been misrepresented in the viral post, which falsely portrays his statement as downplaying the severity of these issues under the Modi government.
- By: Abhishek Parashar
- Published: Mar 14, 2024 at 12:15 PM
- Updated: Mar 18, 2024 at 09:12 PM
New Delhi, Vishvas News: A video clip of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is circulating on social media with a misleading claim. The clip is being shared with the false assertion that Kharge praised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government for low inflation and unemployment rates, and predicted a landslide victory for him in the upcoming elections.
Vishvas News investigated this claim and found it to be false. Targeting the election slogan of “Modi hai to mumkin hai”, Kharge is criticising the PM Modi government, stating that the highest levels of inflation and unemployment in 45 years occurred during his tenure. He questioned, “When did the highest unemployment occur?” and answered that it happened during PM Modi’s time. He had mentioned the word “when” during his speech, but the video is being shared with a fake claim that he said “less”.
What Is Going Viral?
The misleading claim is being spread alongside the video by social media user ‘Surendra Sharma Shivpuri’, who wrote, “Saraswati comes to the tongue once in 24 hours. Mallikarjun Kharge ji first said #thistime400 crossed and now accepted that the unemployment rate, rising inflation is the lowest in the last 45 years under Narendra Modi ji’s government. Soon he will say #ModiSarkar once again.
Many other users on different social media platforms have shared it with similar claims.
Investigation
The viral video is claimed to show Kharge stating, “Unemployment rate, rising inflation is the lowest in the last 45 years under Narendra Modi ji’s government.”
However, a careful review of the video reveals that Kharge did not make such a statement. In the clip, Kharge says., “…Agar Modi hai to mumkin hai, this slogan is very popular. So I would say that in Modi’s era…if the highest unemployment happened in 45 years, then it happened during Modi ji’s era. When did the rising inflation become the highest…it happened during the time of Modi ji…Modi ji…!”
Kharge’s remarks were made in the context of criticising the timing of these economic challenges under the Modi government. However, the viral post misinterprets his use of the word ‘when’ as ‘less’.
In an effort to provide clarity, we conducted a keyword search to locate the original video clip (Archive link). The clip was found on the official social media handle of the Indian National Congress, where Kharge holds the Modi government responsible for the highest inflation and unemployment in the last 45 years.
While sharing the video clip of Kharge, it is written, “Today, unemployment is the highest in the country in 45 years. Inflation has increased – all this happened during Modi ji’s time. PM Modi does not want the gap between rich and poor to get closed in the country. Modi ji’s intention is that the rich should become richer and the poor should become poorer.”
The video clip is also posted on the official Facebook page of Congress.(Archive link).
It has also been reported by various news outlets. Further, the video (Archive link) is available on the verified YouTube channel of One India. The video pertains to a public meeting during the “Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra” in Madhya Pradesh.
We reached out to Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Abhimanyu Tyagi, who said, “The Congress President in his speech had mentioned the highest inflation and unemployment during the Modi government. This can also be heard clearly in the video clip.”
Contrary to the viral claims, Kharge did not endorse the BJP’s election slogan “Abki Baar 400 Paar” in the video. Rather, he was targeting this slogan in his speech. Previous viral clips of Kharge’s address in Parliament were also found to be fake and altered. The related fact check report can be read here.
The user who shared the viral video with false claims appears to have a specific ideological bias.
Conclusion: In his address at a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the Modi government for the highest inflation and unemployment in the last 45 years. Kharge emphasised that these economic challenges occurred during the Modi era, countering the narrative of ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai’. His use of the word ‘Kab’ (when) has been misrepresented in the viral post, which falsely portrays his statement as downplaying the severity of these issues under the Modi government.
- Claim Review : Kharge praised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government for low inflation and unemployment rates, and predicted a la
- Claimed By : FB User-Surendra Sharma Shivpuri
- Fact Check : False
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