An altered video of Avadh Ojha, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Delhi's Patparganj assembly seat, has surfaced with a false claim that it shows him referring to AAP leader Manish Sisodia as 'a coward' in response to a journalist's question about why the latter is not contesting from the Patparganj seat in the Delhi assembly elections.
BOOM found the original interview, where Ojha makes reference to a popular Hindi idiom following an introduction by an NDTV journalist, who mentions that the civil services coach is contesting the elections shortly after joining the party.
In the viral video, an NDTV reporter is heard asking Ojha why former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and AAP leader Manish Sisodia chose not to contest from the Patparganj assembly seat despite winning it three times in a row. In response, Ojha purportedly says a popular Hindi idiom implying that Sisodia may have either broken his vow or retreated from the battlefield.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell chief Amit Malviya posted the video with a Hindi caption that translates to, "AAP candidate from Patparganj Avadh Ojha says that Manish Sisodia, who was jailed in the liquor scam, fled to Jangpura because he is a coward and did not fulfill his promises. You are right. After coming out of jail, Sisodia's face has also lost its colour."
(Original Text in Hindi: पटपड़गंज से आप-दा के प्रत्याशी अवध ओझा का कहना है कि शराब घोटाले में जेल गए मनीष सिसोदिया जंगपुरा इसलिए भाग गए क्योंकि वे डरपोक हैं और उन्होंने अपने वादे पूरे नहीं किए। ठीक ही कह रहे हैं। जेल से बाहर आने के बाद सिसोदिया के चेहरे का रंग भी उड़ गया है।)
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Fact Check
BOOM checked the original NDTV interview and found the sequence to be altered. In the original interview, Ojha responds to the question about Sisodia 'leaving' the Patparganj seat by stating that Sisodia gave him the seat after he personally requested for it.
The interview was uploaded on NDTV India's official YouTube channel on January 8, 2024. It shows Ojha referring to a popular Hindi idiom following his introduction. Later, the reporter asks him about Sisodia's decision to leave the Patparganj seat, to which Ojha gives a different response.
Starting at 36 seconds timestamp in the video report, Rajeev Ranjan introduces Ojha to the viewers. Below is a transcription of their conversation.
NDTV journalist Rajeev Ranjan: Avadh Ojha is with us, he needs no introduction, he used to prepare students for UPSC. Now his new identity is that he is the Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Patparganj assembly. You joined the party and directly jumped into the electoral fray.
Avadh Ojha: Those who did not see war in their lives would have been very unfortunate and would have either broken their vows or fled from the battle. So, after gaining a good amount of experience in my life about what education is and what is the role of education, today, I have come to unveil the statue of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. And knowledge has changed a person's life. So, till now that experience was limited to a few children, to the classroom, now I want to share that knowledge, that experience with the entire country.
Ranjan then asks Ojha whether his party asked him to contest from the Patparganj seat or if it was his own decision. Ojha responds stating that it was his personal decision, as he resides in the area and has known the area for quite some time.
In the next question at 1:46 minutes timestamp in the interview, Ranjan asks Ojha the question about Sisodia that appears in the viral video. Ojha, in his reply, clearly says that Sisodia gave him the Patparganj seat after he requested him. He does not refer to Sisodia as a coward, as being claimed in the altered video. Below is a transcription of the conversation.
Rajeev Ranjan: Patparganj has been a very high-profile seat. Manish Sisodia has been the deputy CM there and he has been here (won) three times in a row. This time he left this seat.
Avadh Ojha: He has not left the seat; he has given it to me. And since he was also associated with education and I also had to work further in the field of education, hence I requested and took this seat from him.