Old Clip Viral to Falsely Claim Kanhaiya Kumar Recently Criticising Rahul Gandhi

The video dates back to July 2023 and shows Kumar delivering a speech at the IYC's Youth Convention in Bengaluru.

Fact-Check | The video is old and is being shared with a misleading context.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar is being shared on the internet with a claim that it shows him taking a dig at Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi recently.

What does the clip show?: The 24-seconds-long video showed Kumar saying, "Anybody born in this country, no matter what their caste, sex, and religion is, they are citizens of this country. And being a citizen means the son of a king will not become a king. In a democracy, voters decide who our ruler would be."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

The above post on X had garnered over 39 thousand views. More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.

What are the facts?: The video dates back to July 2023, when Kumar had delivered a speech at the Indian Youth Congress' (IYC) Youth Convention in Karnataka's Bengaluru. The claim is being shared with a false context.

Hints in the viral video: We noticed that a band at the bottom of the viral clip carried text that said "IYC LIVE FROM BENGALURU, YOUTH CONVENTION DAY-2."

The video was from IYC's convention in Bengaluru.

(Source: Viral clip/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

Finding the full version: We went through the official Facebook handle of IYC and found the full version of Kumar's speech from the Youth Convention in Bengaluru.

• The video was shared on 27 July 2023 with a caption that said, "Live - Behtar Bharat Ki Buniyaad IYC Youth Convention, Bengaluru , Day 2 #BuniyaadIndiaKi."

• It showed him taking digs at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kumar was also heard encouraging the Youth Congress to support the Congress party.

• At around the 13:25 timestamp, Kumar was heard saying, "Today, we should say this with pride that we are Mallikarjun's Kharge's soldiers. We are Rahul Gandhi's soldiers".

• Following this, Kumar said (15:00), "Our communication is clear. This country belonged to people and will always belong to them. Our resolution is that everybody who is born in this country regardless of their caste, sex, and religion will be a citizen of this country.

"Being a citizen means that the son of a king will not become a king. In a democracy, voters decide who our ruler would be. This democracy is the foundation of India. And all workers of Youth Congress should work towards protecting the democracy."

Kanhaiya Kumar, Congress leader

What's the context of the viral clip?: As per recent reports, Kumar and Purnia MP Pappu Yadav were allegedly denied on an open van entry during the Bihar bandh protests.

• However, other leaders such as Rahul Gandhi and former Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav were seen on the stage.

• This old video of Kumar is being shared to falsely create a narrative that he recently took a dig at Gandhi after being snubbed.

Conclusion: The video is old and is being shared on the internet with a false context.

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