CLAIM
A viral video on Facebook shows a man slamming Patidar quota leader Hardik Patel, along with Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Thakor, urging people to instead support Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The description along with the video reads:
"हार्दिक पटेल के पिता जी ने विडियो जारी करके गुजरात की जनता से अपील की मोदी साहब का साथ दे हार्दिक जीगनेश अल्पेश तीनो फर्जी है मवाली टपोरी है लोफर है राहुल गाँधी इनको पैसा देता है और ये तीनो अय्याशी करते है न इनके पिछे समाज है न इनके पास कोई वोट ये सिर्फ लोफर है और राहुल से मिला हुआ है मे भारत आऊंगा तब हार्दिक के खिलाफ कार्रवाई करवाऊगा ।
मोदी जी महान है मे विदेश मे बैठा हू मुझे पता है मोदी जी कितने महान नेता है ।
जय हिंद वन्दे मातरम"
(Translated: Hardik Patel's father has issued a video urging people to support PM Modi. Hardik, Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Tahor are fake leaders who have been given money by Rahul Gandhi. Neither do they have the support of the community, nor the votes – they are good-for-nothing, who have joined forces with Rahul. When I come to India, I will lodge a complaint against Hardik. Modi is great, even though I am abroad, I know this. Jai Hind, Vande Mataram.)
The video has been shared by the Facebook page 'I Support Narendra Bhai Modi BJP’ (please link this to the FB page), has garnered over 19k views.
The video has gone viral on the social media platform because of individual users.
In the video, the man is heard saying:
“He (Hardik Patel) doesn’t even know how to speak and he wishes to become a political leader. He is a nobody. I will appeal to the CBI to look into his activities. I ask Hardik to stop deceiving the people of Gujarat or else he will face consequences. The other two leaders, one being Thakor and the other one (a reference to Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani), they wish to become political leaders. They talk trash about Modiji, who is the best political leader we have had since Independence. I am coming to Gujarat soon then, I’ll see what you have to say for yourself.” (Translated)
TRUE OR FALSE?
The man in the video is not Patidar leader Hardik Patel's father. At the beginning of the video, the man introduces himself as Navin Patel, whereas Hardik's father's name is Bharatbhai Patel.
The following interview by ABP News' Gujarati channel, ABP Asmita, with Hardik's family clearly shows Bharatbhai Patel, who looks nothing like the man in the viral video.
Also, the man in the video mentions that he is a resident of Georgia in America. However, Patel's family lives in Gujarat's Viramgam.
Further, Bharatbhai Patel has been a vociferous supporter of the Congress in the local body elections of 2015. In the subsequent state Assembly elections held in 2017 too, Hardik Patel joined forces with the Congress.
The video also did the rounds in November 2017, ahead of the Gujarat state Assembly elections with the same message.
Patel had campaigned for Congress, and though the party lost the elections, the Patidar leader claimed that he was the reason behind Congress' “vastly improved performance” in the state.
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