A video, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seen lashing out at an individual called 'Manik' during a speech, is being shared with the claim that he is attacking Manik Saha, who recently replaced Biplab Deb to become Tripura's new chief minister on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
BOOM found this claim to be false; our investigation revealed that this video was shot on February 8, 2018, and that the person being referred to by Modi is Manik Sarkar, the then-chief minister of Tripura and a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and not BJP leader Manik Saha.
This post is being shared in the backdrop of the sudden change in Chief Minister in Tripura, ahead of the polls in 2023, after BJP's Biplab Deb stepped down from the role, allowing for BJP Tripura state president Manik Saha to step in.
We found the video being shared on Twitter with the caption, "PM Modi had told the people of Tripura 4 years ago- "Now you don't want Manik (rubies), get rid of Manik. Now you need diamonds. Want a diamond or not?" Today BJP has elected Manik Saha as the new chief minister of Tripura."
(Original caption: PM मोदी ने 4 साल पहले त्रिपुरा के लोगों से कहा था- "अब आपको माणिक नहीं चाहिए, माणिक से मुक्ति ले लो. अब आपको ज़रूरत है हीरे की. हीरा चाहिए कि नहीं चाहिए?" आज BJP ने माणिक साहा को त्रिपुरा का नया मुख्यमंत्री चुना है.)
Click here to view an archived version of the tweet.
We also found the same video being shared with the exact same captions by other users on Twitter and Facebook - view them here, here, here and here.
Fact Check
BOOM did a quick search with keywords from Modi's speech in the video - 'Modi Manik hira', and was led to a wide range of results from February 2018.
One of the search results was a Times of India article with the headline, "Throw away Manik, Tripura deserves HIRA: PM Modi", which talks about a rally at Tripura's Sonamura on February 8, 2018, where Modi is seen hitting out at then-chief minister Manik Sarkar, who was leading the CPI(M) government in Tripura.
We also found a YouTube video, uploaded by TOI, which included the segment going viral on social media.
The viral segment can be seen at the 00:45 mark.
We also found articles by Business Standard, Deccan Herald, Hindustan Times and NDTV on Modi's Sonamura rally, which all mentioned that he was referring to CPI(M)'s Manik Sarkar, and not BJP's Manik Saha.
