Amit Malviya, head of the Bharatiya Janata Pary's information and technology operations, tweeted an edited version of an old video claiming politician Yogendra Yadav, was "bragging (about) his Muslim identity" in a Muslim dominated area. The doctored clip has omitted lines which show Yadav talking about tolerance and not discriminating between religions.
Malviya, on Friday tweeted the edited clip with the caption, "I usually don’t carry TV debates to social media but making an exception to expose @_YogendraYadav’s janus face. Here is a video where he can be seen bragging his Muslim identity to a largely Muslim audience in Muslim dominated Mewat. If this isn’t cynical politics, then what is?"
The 1.10 seconds video tweeted by Malviya starts with overlaid text which claims, "At a Mahapanchayat in Muslim dominated Mewat in Haryana, Yogendra Yadav makes it a point to inform the gathering about his 'Muslim identity' and tells them that his name is Salim."
It then shows Yadav speaking to a gathering and and ends with the text, "When are you withdrawing from public life?"
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The question posed to Yadav in the last line of the video, 'when are you withdrawing from public life?' is in reply to a heated debate between Malviya and Yadav on news channel India Today. The debate aired on April 18, 2019 had Malviva accusing Yadav of playing caste politics to which Yadav challenged him to present proof supporting the accusations.
Yadav challenged Malviya to show him "one clipping, one record" of him playing caste-based politics before adding, "I will not only withdraw from elections, I will withdraw from public life forever,"
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Here is the link to the said part of the debate -
FACT-CHECK
BOOM looked at the video tweeted by Malviya and found the original speech is from July 2018 when Yadav participated in a panchayat in Kolgaon in Haryana after the lynching of Rakhbar Khan in Alwar, Rajasthan.
In reply to Malviya, Yadav tweeted the full video accusing him of doctoring the clip. Yadav tweeted, "Clinching evidence that @amitmalviya had doctored the few seconds video he has circulated. Just listen to this small fragment from my speech."
Yadav accused BJP of editing out two lines from the original video, "BJP lie factory cut out my words: na Hindu Banega na Musalman Banega! Also: "nafrat ja jawab Mohabbat se Dena hai."
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BOOM also found the full speech from the day shared live on Facebook by Swaraj India, the political party led by Yadav. The full speech of over 13 minutes has Yadav talking about the lynching of Khan and also about the killing of his grandfather by a Muslim mob.
The edited video tweeted by Malviya has Yadav narrating the story about his grandfather ends with Yadav saying, 'but that person (Yadav's father) decided that he would give Muslim names to his children, and that's how my name came to be Salim...something that you may have heard about.'
(Hindi text of the edited clip - "उस शख्स ने तय किया की अपने बच्चो को मुस्लिम नाम दूंगा… और उससे मेरा नाम सलीम पड़ा था…जो किस्सा सुनाया जाता है आज कल")
However, the original video shows Yadav said, 'but that person decided. He will not be a Hindu, not be a Muslim but is the son of a human being, so he would be only a human being. And then he decided that he would give Muslim names to his children. And that's how my name came to be Salim...something that you may have heard about .'
( Text of the original video - लेकिन उस शख्स ने तय किया ना हिन्दू बनेगा, ना मुस्लिम बनेगा, इंसान की औलाद है, इंसान बनेगा। और उसने तय किया की अपने बच्चो को मुस्लिम नाम दूंगा… और उससे मेरा नाम सलीम पड़ा था…जो किस्सा सुनाया जाता है आज कल")
Watch the video from 8.37 onward.
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In the original video Yadav says the following.
"Many people know...my grandfather was killed in Hindu-Muslim clashes. It was in 1936, when my grandfather was killed in Hindu-Muslim clashes...He was killed in Hisar by a Muslim mob wielding a sickle. Now imagine, my father then a 7-year-old child, who witnessed his father being killed by a sickle in front of his eyes... if he wished he could have hated Muslims all his life, joined the RSS if he wanted to...it would be a very simple thing ... but that person decided. He will not be a Hindu, not be a Muslim but is the son of a human being, so he would be only a human being. And then he decided, that he would give Muslim names to his children, and that's how my name came to be Salim...something that you may have heard about."
( "कईं लोगों को पता है….मेरे दादाजी हिन्दू मुस्लिम फसाद में मारे गए थे। १९३६ के बात है, मेरे दादाजी हिन्दू मुस्लिम फसाद में मारे गए थे…. हिसार में उनको क़त्ल करदिया गया था गंडासे एक मुस्लिम भीड़ थी जिसने मार दिया था | अब सोचिये मेरे पिताजी वह ७ साल का बच्चा, जिसने अपने बाप को अपनी आँख के सामने गंडासे से क़त्ल होते हुए देख….. वह चाहता तोह, ज़िन्दगी भर मुसलमानो से नफरत कर सकता था, चाहता तोह आरएसएस बा सकता था… बड़ी साधारण बात होती…. लेकिन उस शख्स ने तय किया ना हिन्दू बनेगा, ना मुस्लिम बनेगा, इंसान की औलाद है, इंसान बनेगा। और उसने तय किया की अपने बच्चो को मुस्लिम नाम दूंगा… और उससे मेरा नाम सलीम पड़ा था…जो किस्सा सुनाया जाता है आज कल")
BOOM also found a 2014 article by the Hindustan Times where Yogendra Yadav then an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Gurgaon at the time, spoke about the origin of the name Salim. (Yogendra Yadav says his family, friends know him as Salim)
BOOM also contacted Malviya, who said, "On the India Today debate Yogendra Yadav said, 'Please produce one video where I have claimed my Muslim identity in a public progam.' Toh Maine uss video mein utna hi portion daala hai, jahan par Yogendra Yadav keh rahe hai ki mera naam Salim hai. (So I have only added that part of the video where Yadav is saying that his name is Salim) What he said otherwise is not for me to include. This video is in context and as proof that that Yadav went to Muslim dominated areas and started speaking about his Muslim name. It is not my job to put out a video that will suit Yadav."
This is not the first time Amit Malviya has shared an edited video or tweeted a video with misleading context. BOOM's fact-checks on his tweets can be read here and here.
