A video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is being shared on social media with a claim that the person translating his speech in Gujarati stopped the translation mid-speech because he couldn't understand what Gandhi was saying.
Who has shared this claim?: Several users including ABP News anchor Shobhana Yadav, the official Twitter account of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Madhya Pradesh BJP's social media incharge Abhishek Sharma shared the video taking a dig at Gandhi.
(Note: Swipe right to see the claims. Several other similar claims can be seen here and here.)
An archive can be seen here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
An archive can be seen here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
An archive can be seen here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
Did the translator really leave the stage?: Senior Congress leader Bharat Singh was translating Gandhi's speech, but he stopped when someone from the public made that demand.
Speaking to The Quint, Singh confirmed the same and said that he only stopped after the request was made by the crowd.
We also spoke to NDTV's Tanushree Pandey, who was covering the rally in Surat on 21 November. Pandey, too, reiterated what Singh told us.
"An elderly person stood up from the crowd and appealed to Rahul Gandhi to speak only in Hindi. After this, the Congress leader who was translating stopped and told Rahul that if he speaks in Hindi then it will be fine."Tanushree Pandey, NDTV Reporter
Is there any visual evidence for it?: We found a YouTube video on the official channel of Congress, which was live streamed on 21 November.
At around 37:44 minutes, Gandhi starts narrating a childhood story, which was being translated.
But then at 38:07 minutes, when Rahul stops for Singh to translate, the latter tells him that people will understand his Hindi and that he can continue.
At this point Gandhi confirms if the public will understand his Hindi and Singh (the translator) moves back to his seat.
Bharat Singh can be seen on the stage even after the translation is stopped: The speech was also aired by NDTV and we found the video of it on their YouTube channel, albeit from a different angle. Here, it can be seen around 8:59 minutes that Gandhi asks Singh if translation is not needed and Singh starts approaching the mic again. But then returns to his seat.
What did the other Congress leaders say?: We also spoke to Gujarat Congress Spokesperson Hemang Rawal who confirmed that Bharat Singh had stopped the translation on public demand.
"In the middle of the speech, there was a demand from the public that the translation should be stopped. After this, senior Congress leader Bharat Singh, who was doing the translation, stopped the translation after Rahul Gandhi's consent. Bharat Singh had also gone to drop Rahul Gandhi back to the chopper."Hemang Rawal, Gujarat Congress Spokesperson
Conclusion: The viral claim about translator 'running away' from the stage to avoid translating Rahul Gandhi's speech in Gujarat is misleading.
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