A video of former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Kamal Nath addressing a crowd and speaking about cancelling the Laadli Behna Scheme is viral online. BOOM found that the claims are false and the video has been overlaid with a fake audio.
The Mukhyamantri Laadli Behna Yojana was launched earlier this year by Bharatiya Janata Party-led MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, under which eligible women in the state were provided Rs 1,000 per month. The amount was later increased to Rs 1,250 per month.
The polling for the assembly elections in the state is scheduled for November 17, 2023 and the results will be declared on December 3. Congress candidate Kamal Nath will go head-to-head against current CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Amid this, several doctored videos with fake voiceovers targeting the two leaders separately have gone viral in the run-up to the elections. Read BOOM's fact-checks here and here.
The video of Kamal Nath purportedly talking about cancelling a BJP scheme that benefits women and replacing it with Congress' Naari Samman Scheme is viral online. The Naari Samman Scheme is a counter scheme launched by the Congress that promises eligible women in MP Rs 1500 per month and domestic gas cylinder for Rs 500 if elected to power.
In the video, he is heard saying, "If the Congress come to power (in Madhya Pradesh), we will first put an end to the Laadli Behna Scheme. We will remove the beneficiaries who have already received the money (under Laadli Behna Scheme) and add new names. Only the ones whose names are not in the Laadli Behna Scheme will receive benefits under the Naari Samman Scheme. This is our promise. This is Kamal Nath's promise."
The viral video is being shared with the caption, "Kalank Nath has said it on stage-- If our government comes to power, we will shut down the Laadli Behna Scheme."
(Original text in Hindi: "कलंकनाथ ने भरे मंच पर कहा- हमारी सरकार आते ही बंद कर देंगे लाड़ली बहना योजना")
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FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the audio in the video has been overlaid and that in the original speech, Kamal Nath did not speak about cancelling the Laadli Behna Scheme.
A reverse image search of some key frames from the viral video led us to a post on X by the verified handle of the MP Congress shared on October 26, 2023. The post's visuals resembled the viral video and on further scanning the page, we found a livestream by the verified handle that carried the full version of Kamal Nath's speech.
According to the caption, Kamal Nath was addressing a crowd at Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh ahead of the state elections.
Kamal Nath filed his nomination for the MP elections from Chhindwara on October 26 after this address.
Here is a comparison between the viral video and the original video shared by MP Congress' verified handle:
In this address, Nath spoke about the infrastructural and agricultural developments in Madhya Pradesh during his tenure and also criticised Shivraj Singh Chouhan for increased corruption and poverty. We watched the entire speech and did not find any statement by Kamal Nath that hinted towards cancelling the Laadli Behna Scheme or replacing it with the Naari Samman Scheme. We also found that he did not mention the schemes at all.
According to reports, MP Congress Secretary Rakesh Singh Yadav also filed a criminal complaint against this fake video that was being circulated on some WhatsApp groups. The case was registered against an unknown phone number under sections of the IPC related to forgery, breach of peace, and statements of public mischief.