FACT CHECK: Manipulation of Rahul Gandhi’s Caste Census Speech for Communal Narrative

People on social media have shared a 42-second video clip of Rahul Gandhi talking about the need for a national Socio-Economic and Caste Census that has been changed to give a false impression. The video, which was shared by Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) on X platform, gives the wrong impression that Gandhi’s speech was only about minorities. India TV did a fact check and found that the widely shared video had been edited to leave out important parts of Gandhi’s speech. In the original speech, which was posted on Congress’s official YouTube channel on April 6, 2024, Gandhi talked about the party’s plans to include backward classes, Dalits, Adivasis, economically disadvantaged general castes, and minorities in a census that would count everyone.

Selective editing distorts Gandhi’s message

The dishonest editing of the video was meant to change Gandhi’s message by leaving out references to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Dalits, giving the false idea that he was only talking about minorities. That being said, listening to the whole speech, especially the part that starts at 31.27 minutes, shows how Gandhi included many groups that were being left out.

Clarification of Gandhi’s remarks

Rahul Gandhi said in his speech, “When our government comes, we will do the same caste census in the whole country as we did in Telangana.” We are going to take an X-ray of the country, and people from lower castes, tribal groups, and other underprivileged groups will be able to see how they fit into it. This quote shows how much Gandhi cared about making sure that the census included people from all walks of life.

Exposing deceptive tactics

The video was edited in a dishonest way to spread a fake story and hurt Gandhi’s support for a census that counts everyone. The video that was edited tried to confuse people and stir up feelings of community by cropping out parts of his speech.

Full speech provides clarity

Members of the public can watch Rahul Gandhi’s full speech on the Congress’s official YouTube channel. This makes his position clear and makes sure that his message is understood correctly.

Conclusion

The spread of fake videos with false stories made it clear how important it is to check information before posting it on social media. Since Rahul Gandhi’s speech was edited in a selective way, it should serve as a warning to think carefully about what you read and not spread false information.