May 13, 2024 08:25 PM IST
The claim circulating online suggests that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi endorsed the rival AIMIM during a speech in Hyderabad.
What is the claim?
A video of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being shared online with the claim that he endorsed the rival All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), a political party headed by Asaddudin Owaisi, the incumbent Member of Parliament from Hyderabad constituency. In the video, Modi can be heard saying, “Telangana is saying not Congress, not BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), not BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi), vote for MIM. We will make MIM win (translated from Hindi).” The video shared online has a text overlaid on it saying: “Modi supported AIMIM in Hyderabad.”
Users on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook shared this video claiming that Modi is endorsing Owaisi’s party at a speech in Hyderabad. Archived versions of such posts can be seen here, here, and here.
However, the now-viral video is edited. The original video shows Modi asking people to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), not the AIMIM.
Here are the facts
A Google search led us to the longer version of the viral video uploaded on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official YouTube channel on May 10. The video’s description states that the video was taken at a BJP rally held in Hyderabad the same day.
In the video (archived here), around the 12:49 timestamp, Modi can be heard speaking in Dakhini, a local dialect spoken in parts of Telangana and Karnataka. He says, “Telangana is saying Congress nakko (no), BRS nakko, MIM nakko, vote for BJP (we will vote for BJP), we will make BJP win.”
The original video makes it clear that the words ‘BJP’ and ‘AIMIM’ have been swapped to make it appear as though Modi supported the latter. The original video clearly shows him endorsing his own party, the BJP. In the entire speech, Modi does not support the AIMIM at any point. Modi spoke to the crowd at the rally in Dakhni, during campaigning in Telangana, ahead of polling in the state on May 13 in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Media outlets like The Statesman and Siasat Daily also reported on Modi’s speech, and the reports also make no mention of Modi endorsing the AIMIM. The BJP has fielded K Madhavi Latha from the Hyderabad constituency against Asaddudin Owaisi, and such an endorsement from Modi would have been unusual and made national headlines.
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The verdict
An edited video of Prime Minister Modi has been shared online, claiming he supported the AIMIM in Hyderabad. He was urging people to vote for the BJP. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.
