A fake graphic claims Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha said that the party's newly announced chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann will be able to eradicate the problem of alcoholism since he is an alcoholic himself.
BOOM found that Chadha never made such a statement and that the viral graphic has been edited to make the false claim.
The AAP announced Mann as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Punjab elections to be held on February 20, 2022. Mann who is a comedian turned politician is a two time Lok Sabha MP from the Sangrur parliamentary constituency in Punjab. Mann who is said to be popular among masses in the state will be contesting from the Dhuri constituency which falls in the politically significant Malwa constituency. While considered a Congress stronghold for years, Mann enjoys strong support base in Malwa region.
The graphic which shows Chadha talking at a press conference, has a ticker at the bottom which makes the false claim in Hindi. The line translates to," Diamond cuts diamond, the same way an alcoholic will end the menace of drugs : Chadha"
(Original text in Hindi - लोहा लोहे को काटता है, वैसे ही शराबी नशे को खत्म करेगा)
The same is being shared on Twitter mocking Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party.
FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the graphic is fake and that Raghav Chadha never made such a statement.
A look at the graphic showed that the style resembled news shows on news channel ABP. We went through various uploads by the channel where Chadha can be seen addressing the press and found a show from January 18, 2022 about whether Bhagwant Mann would the chief ministerial candidate for AAP in Punjab.
In the show, the anchors talk about the AAP's political strategy with several visuals showing AAP leaders including Chadha, Kejriwal and Mann. In one such visual, for three minutes starting from the counter 1.39, Chadha can be seen wearing the same green jacket as in the viral graphic.
We watched the show and found that Chadha did not make such statement and neither does ABP show the lines written in the viral graphic anywhere on its ticker.
At the 1.44 second mark, Chadha's name is shown on the ticker and then the next ticker with Chadha still in the frame reads, "People asked for their opinion on the CM candidate". (In Hindi - सीएम चेहरे पर लोगों से राय मांगी गयी)
This ticker has been edited and replaced with the line 'लोहा लोहे को काटता है, वैसे ही शराबी नशे को खत्म करेगा' to make the false claim.
You can watch the full video here -