A cropped video of Rahul Gandhi being presented a Lord Vitthal idol in Nashik, Maharashtra, is being shared on social media falsely claiming that the Congress leader refused to accept it.
BOOM found that in the longer version of the video, we can clearly see Gandhi accept the idol that was presented to him and also pose with it for a photograph on stage.
On March 15, 2024, Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra had reached Nashik, Maharashtra, where he along with other Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance leaders including - Sharad Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut addressed a public meeting. BJNY started on January 14, 2024 from Thoubal in Manipur, and would end in Mumbai, Maharashtra on March 17, 2024.
In the viral video Gandhi can be seen posing with other Congress workers on stage who are tying him a pagdi and one worker can be seen presenting him a Lord Vitthal idol.
The 31 seconds video was posted on X by Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell chief Amit Malviya with the caption, "Rahul Gandhi refuses to accept idol of Bhagwan Vitthal on stage. This is an insult of not just the Warkaris but millions of Hindu devotees, who revere the Lord. From DMK to the Congress, Hindu hate is what binds the I.N.D.I Alliance. Rahul Gandhi suffers from Hindumisia."
BOOM has previously debunked misinformation posted by Malviya on X.
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The same video was also posted by BJP Maharashtra's official X handle making the same false claim in Marathi claiming that Gandhi insulted Lord Vitthal
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video has been cropped and in the original video Rahul Gandhi can be seen accepting and posing with the idol that was presented to him on stage during the public meeting in Nashik, Maharashtra.
Taking a hint from the several replies to Amit Malviya stating that the video is cropped and in the original video Gandhi is accepting the idol, we looked for a longer version of the video and found that Gandhi accepted the idol which has been cropped out of the viral video.
In the below video, from the 1.23 minutes timestamp, we can see the same sequence of events as in the viral video where a Congress worker is standing holding an idol of Lord Vitthal at the side along with a group of people with Gandhi in the middle on stage.
As he first extends the idol toward Gandhi, a man can be seen asking him to wait as he poses with Gandhi for a photo. After that from 1.37 minutes timestamp the man can be seen presenting the idol to Gandhi who then accepts it and poses with it for a few seconds, after which he passes it to someone else. This can be seen from the 1.48 minutes timestamp.
This part where Gandhi poses with the the idol has been cropped out of the viral video to make the false claim that he refused to accept the idol presented to him on stage.
The full sequence of events can be seen below
Additionally, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole quote tweeted BJP Maharashtra's post with the viral video, and posted a longer version of the video clarifying in Marathi that Gandhi had accepted the idol.