Fact Check: Edited Video Of Rahul Gandhi Saying ‘X-Ray Means Caste Census’ Going Viral

New Delhi (Vishvas News) A video clip featuring Rahul Gandhi has been circulating widely on social media platforms, wherein he appears to make the statement “X-ray, means caste census.” Claims suggest that he made this remark during a public address. Upon investigation, Vishvas News found that the viral video clip of Rahul Gandhi is an edited segment taken out of context from his complete speech.

In reality, he referred to the caste census as the ‘X-ray’ of the country, a term he has consistently used in numerous previous speeches. He used this terminology within the context of conducting a caste census to specify Other Backward Castes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the country.

What’s Going Viral?

Social media user ‘politicalkida’ shared the viral video clip of Rahul Gandhi and wrote in the caption, “Today the security man’s leg came under the car… We said get X-ray done… ray means caste census.” Many other users on different social media platforms have shared this video clip in a similar context.

Investigation:

The viral video lasted only a few seconds, capturing Rahul Gandhi saying, “Today our poor security guy came under the car. His leg came under it. We asked him to go and get the X-ray done first. X-ray means caste census…!”

Upon listening to the video clip, it becomes evident that this is a brief excerpt from a speech by Rahul Gandhi. This tactic of using altered or edited clips of leaders for election propaganda is common during elections. Through keyword search, we found the original video on the social media handle of News Tak, which offers a slightly longer version of the viral clip.

As per the provided information, this excerpt is from his address to the public during the “Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra” in Amethi. In the video, Rahul Gandhi states, “everyone has to be counted. How many poor general caste people are there in this country. How much money do they have in their hands…how many backward people are there in this country. How much money do they have. How much money do the tribals have? How much money do Dalits have, means caste census.”

Following this, he continues, “just like someone gets hurt…the first thing…today our poor security guy came under the car…the first thing we asked him to do is go and get an X-ray done…first Work X-ray means caste census.”

On the official YouTube channel of the Indian National Congress, we found the complete and original video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Amethi, published on February 19, 2024.

The full context of the viral clip becomes clear when listened to from the 16-minute 20-second mark of the video. Rahul Gandhi referred to the caste census as an “X-ray” of the country, aiming to understand the distribution of resources among different castes. In the same context, he likened the caste census to an X-ray performed by a doctor to assess injuries, highlighting its significance in understanding resource distribution.

We reached out to Congress national spokesperson Pawan Khera regarding the viral video clip. While sharing the original YouTube video clip of Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Amethi, he remarked, “This is an edited and misrepresented video.” This statement is also referenced in various news reports. According to a February 16 report by the Indian Express, during a rally in Aurangabad, Rahul Gandhi described the caste census as a “social X-ray”.

This description is reiterated in another report by The Hindu from November 2023, where Rahul Gandhi discussed the issue of caste census, labelling it an “X-ray” of the country. Recently, a similar edited and altered clip of Rahul Gandhi went viral, claiming he said “50+15=73” during one of his public addresses. Vishvas News debunked this in its investigation.

Conclusion: The viral video clip featuring Rahul Gandhi saying “X-Ray” means caste census has been edited and altered, with the intention of election propaganda. It is incomplete and being shared out of context. Throughout several of his rallies, Rahul Gandhi has consistently referred to the caste census as the “X-ray” of the country.

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• Rahul Gandhi