Video Editor: Prashant Chauhan
BJP leader and Assam health minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, tweeted a video on 6 November, Friday, claiming that it showed supporters of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) raising "Pakistan zindabad" slogans at Silchar Airport in Assam.
However, we found that the AIUDF supporters were saying "Aziz Khan zindabad" to welcome Aziz Ahmed Khan, who is an AIUDF Member of Legislative assembly (MLA).
CLAIM
The tweet that Sarma shared read, “Look at the brazenness of these fundamentalists anti-national people who are shouting PAKISTAN ZINDABAD while they welcome MP @BadruddinAjmal. This thoroughly exposes @INCIndia which is encouraging such forces by forging an alliance. We shall fight them tooth & nail. Jai Hind”.
Other BJP leaders also posted the video with the same claim.
The BJP’s Information and Technology cell head Amit Malviya also made the same claim on his Twitter handle.
The tweet was then picked up by national media outlets like Times Now, CNN News18 and News Nation. Some regional channels, like News Live, also picked up the news.
The video was also shared by other social media users with the same claim.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
When we did a keyword search for “Badruddin Ajmal in Assam” we found several news reports from 5 November when Badruddin Ajmal, AIUDF chief reached Silchar Airport and was welcomed by his supporters. We looked for videos posted by AIUDF supporters and came across several videos from different vantage points.
After analysing the videos carefully, we could hear the supporters shouting “Aziz Khan Zindabad” and Aziz Bhai Zindabad”.
Aziz Ahmed Khan who is an AIUDF MLA from Assam’s Karimganj South Vidhan Sabha constituency was accompanying Ajmal at the airport. Slogans of “AIUDF zindabad” were also raised.
Videos posters by AIUDF supporters can be found here and here.
AIDUF also put out a clarification on their Twitter handle and said that the slogan raised at the venue was “Aziz Khan zindabad” and not “Pakistan zindabad”.
So, claims made by several BJP leaders that “Pakistan zindabad” slogans were raised at Silchar airport were false.
Meanwhile, a case was registered against Himanta Biswa Sarma for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups by making claims that were false, PTI reported quoting police on Tuesday, 10 November.
(Update: The story has been updated to add the information about a case registered against Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. It was earlier updated to add BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya’s tweet making the same claim as Sarma.)
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