A video from December 2021 of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann saying he does not know who is running the Punjab state government and likening it to a driverless bus that might crash, is being shared falsely claiming it is recent.
BOOM found that the claim is false as the video is before Mann became chief minister and the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Punjab in a landslide win this year.
In the video, Mann can be seen talking in Punjabi and saying one is not able to figure out who is running the government and that the government is like a driverless bus that can crash into a ditch at any moment.
The video is being shared with a sarcastic caption in Gurmukhi script.
(In Punjabi - ਇੱਧਰ ਬਦਲਾਵ ਬੌੰਦਲ ਗਿਆ ਸਵਾਰੀ ਆਪਣੇ ਸਮਾਨ ਦੀ ਆਪ ਜਿੰਮੇਵਾਰ)
The same video is being shared on Facebook with the misleading claim.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from December 2021 when Bhagwant Mann was in opposition and attacking the then ruling Congress government in the state before the Punjab elections in February 2022.We found several news reports that had reported the statement made by Mann on December 17, 2021. Punjab Jagran had reported on December 17, 2021, quoting Mann addressing a press conference where he had criticised the ruling Congress government in the state.
Mann was quoted saying, "...The Congress has also made a mockery of the government. No one knows who is running the government in Punjab. Officers are changing overnight. The AG and DGP have been changed twice..."
This statement can be viewed on Aama Aadmi Party's YouTube channel which had broadcasted the press conference on December 17, 2021. At the 13.00 minutes timestamp, while responding to a question by a journalist that who is running the Punjab Congress government in the state - Navjot Singh Siddhu or then Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. Mann responds making the statement that can be heard in the viral video also that he does not know who is running the government.
The portion where the journalist asks this question has been edited out in the viral video and passed off to make it seem that Mann is talking about his own government.
At the 13.00 minutes time-stamp we can hear the same statement as in the viral video