A video of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson talking about former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru is being shared on social media, where users have claimed that he praised the latter to take a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy.
What does he say?: In the clip, Johnson says, "I remember in 1952, when I was talking to Prime Minister Nehru. He said, "Your Majesty, India will basically always be on the side of Russia."
The claim: The video is being shared with text which reads, "NEHRU Had Guts, MODI Looks for Shortcuts”: Boris Johnson's Blistering Attack on PM Modi's Foreign Policy. (SIC)"
While Johnson spoke about his conversation with the late Queen Elizabeth II about PM Nehru, he did not compare his foreign policy with that of PM Modi.
How did we find out the truth?: We ran a reverse image search on the viral video, which led us to the full video on The Economic Times' YouTube channel.
Johnson was speaking at the The Economic Times World Leaders Forum's 2026 edition on 22 August.
We went through the video, and found that the former British prime minister had made the statement in the viral video around the 30-minute mark, when he was talking about the Russia-Ukraine war.
Recalling his conversation with the late Queen Elizabeth II, Johnson said,
"I was once saying to her late majesty the queen of England, you know how difficult it was to persuade our Indian friends to firmly come down against Russia. She, you know, she said, well, very shortly before she died, she said quick as a flash, "Oh yes. I remember in 1952 when I was talking to Prime Minister Nehru and he said, 'Your Majesty, India will always basically be on the side of Russia. Some things never change, they just are,' he said."Former British PM Boris Johnson at ET's World Leaders Forum in 2026
He went on to talk about how he felt about the statement and his thoughts about the end of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Did he criticise PM Modi?: No, he did not speak poorly of PM Modi anywhere during his interaction.
The only times he mentioned PM Modi were in his reference to his speech the previous day, calling it "brilliant," and while speaking about US President Donald Trump.
Conclusion: A clipped video is being shared to falsely claim that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticised PM Modi's foreign policy while praising former PM Nehru.
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