An unrelated video from Qatar showing a large crowd of migrant workers leaving Redco International company for their home countries, is being shared with a false claim that Indian migrant workers in Kuwait are being sent back home after anti-Prophet Mohammad remarks by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
Several Arab countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia had registered protests with the Indian government over remarks made by BJP members Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal against the Prophet Mohammad. Following the heavy backlash, the BJP distanced itself from the comments and expelled Jindal and suspended Sharma from the party.
However, the viral video is not related to the controversy.
In the viral video, a large group of migrant workers can be seen assembled with their luggage. Music has been overlaid on the video
The video is being shared with the caption when translated reads, "Coming back home from Kuwait"
(Original text in Hindi - कुवैत से घर वापसी)
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The video is being shared with different captions on Facebook with misleading claims that Indian workers are being sent back from the Gulf after the recent anti-prophet remarks by two BJP spokespersons.
The caption when translated reads, "Around 60,000 people are being returned to India from Arab countries. Action started in Qatar, Kuwait and other Arab countries. It is possible if Modi is there"
In this video, we can hear a man say, "Redco International". According to its website, Redco International is a industrial manufacturing and contracting group.
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Also Read: Old Video From Kuwait Peddled As Man Beaten For Praising Nupur Sharma
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from Qatar with posts dating back to March 2022 from a workers' protest at Redco International in Doha after which the company provided them tickets to return to their own countries.
The viral video pre-dates the recent controversy over anti-Prophet remarks by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma during a Times Now debate in May 2022.
BOOM Hindi had previously fact-checked the same video when it was being shared with the false claim that the video shows Indian migrants in Qatar and other Gulf countries being sent back after the anti-Prophet remarks.
On listening to the video, we can hear a person say Redco International, taking a hint from this we searched with the relevant keywords and found that the same video was uploaded on March 29, 2022, by the YouTube channel QN Qatar.
The caption on the video reads, "Redco International company, receiving ticket".
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In the video, a person narrates that workers of Redco International are going to get tickets to sit on a bus.
We found other protest videos by workers from the company protesting over alleged non-payment of salaries, posted on March 22, 2022, on Facebook. We also found another video uploaded on QN Qatar of the workers' salary strike.
The caption with the video was posted days before the viral video on March 22, 2022, with the caption reading, "#Redco Int company Qatar worker salary strike".
BOOM reached out to Redco International regarding the viral video via email. They confirmed that the viral video is old and is not related to the recent controversy regarding the anti-Prophet remarks by BJP spokespersons.
Abdul Sattar, HR & Administration Manager, Redco International sent BOOM a statement via email stating, "This is a very old video in which workers were on strike, as they were not willing to go back to their home countries on completion of the projects. As these workers were brought in on a shutdown basis for 6 months and they were supposed to go back on completion of the projects but when the company arranged their repatriation they refused to go back and went on strike. In response Ministries had to get involved and we sent them back on company tickets after paying their full and final dues. This has nothing to do with the current ongoing situation in India."