A five-year-old clip of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh speaking on farmers' issues is being shared with the false claim that he has come out in support of the ongoing farmer's protests against the farm laws passed by the central government.
In the 10 minute clip, Singh is speaking in support of farmers and can be heard saying, "And my farmer brothers never consider yourself weak, I know in what tight condition you have to live your life because I am also a villager, I am the son of a farmer...."
Singh can also be heard praising the late Mahendra Singh Tikait, father of farmer leader Rakesh Tikait of the Bharatiya Kisan Union who has been a key part of the farmers' agitation.
The clip is being shared with the caption which when translated reads, "Jai jawan jai kisan, Rajnath Singh has come out against the farm bills in support of farmers due to which the central government has suffered a setback."
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(In Hindi - जय जवान जय किसान, राजनाथ सिंह उतरे थे कृषी बिलो के विरोध मे किसानो के सम्मान मे केन्द्र सरकार को लगा था तगङा झटका)
Viral on Facebook
On searching with the same caption on Facebook, we found that the viral clip is being shared with the false claim
Also Read: 2013 Video Of Rajnath Singh Passed Off As Support To Farmers' Protest
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral clip has been cropped from a speech by Rajnath Singh from October 2015, when he was speaking at an event on the occasion of the birth anniversary of late farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait.
On listening to the viral clip, Singh can be heard referring to Tikiat, taking a hint from that we searched with the relevant keywords and found that the viral clip had been clipped from a longer speech by Singh in October 6, 2015. This longer video which was uploaded on the BJP's official YouTube channel reading, "Shri Rajnath Singh speech on the occasion of Mahendra Singh Tikait Birth Anniversary"
From the 5.48 timestamp, we can hear Singh speak the same things as in the viral clip
Additionally, in the original clip, Singh can be heard praising BJP MP Sanjeev Balyan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The viral clip has been cropped to leave out these sections to make the false claim.
In September 2020, Singh, following a Rajya Sabha session, had organised a press conference and stated that in support of the farm bills saying, "I am also a farmer. The Minimum Supporting Price will not be scrapped, it will be there. Farmers are being misled." Read here.
Another old clip of Singh speaking to farmers from 2013 was also shared in December 2020, with the false claim that he had come out in support of farmers against the farm laws.
BOOM has debunked misinformation around the farmers' protests. Several false claims had gone viral to target the protesting farmers and old photos, videos being shared as recent.
Follow our thread on misinformation around the farmers' protests.
