The Congress party launched ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on September 07, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and many other party leaders. This yatra started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and will end in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. This Yatra will cover 11 states and two union territories in approximately five months. Meanwhile, a video of Union Minister Smriti Irani is going viral on social media.
In the viral video, she claimed that Rahul Gandhi started his Bharat Jodo Yatra without paying homage to Swami Vivekananda at the Vivekananda Memorial located in Kanyakumari because Swami Vivekananda was not a member of the Gandhi family.
She made this statement during the Janapandana program held in Doddaballapura, Bengaluru, at the end of 3 years of BJP government in Karnataka. At 10:30 a.m. timestamp, the viral statement can be heard.
To claim:
Rahul Gandhi started his Bharat Jodo Yatra without paying homage to Swami Vivekananda located in Kanyakumari.
Fact check:
Logical Indian’s fact-checking team verified the claim and found it to be false. The Indian National Congress (INC) party’s official social media shared a video of Rahul Gandhi paying respects at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial on September 7.
Several other political leaders associated with Congress shared videos of Gandhi, calling Smriti Irani’s statement false.
The Indian National Congress party’s official YouTube channel shared Rahul Gandhi’s video on September 7. The clip is titled ‘Shri Rahul Gandhi paid respects at Vivekananda Memorial earlier today’, in which he can be seen walking around the statue of Swami Vivekananda at the memorial.
The official Congress Twitter account shared the same clip on September 7 and captioned it, “Shri @RahulGandhi paid tribute at Vivekananda Memorial earlier today.”
Additionally, another official Congress Twitter account, claiming to be the official INC media platform, shared more clips of Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the memorial.
The handle called Smriti Irani for its false declaration and subtitled the post in Hindi, “INC TV के कैमरे से स्मृति ईरानी के झूठ पर्दाफाश पर्दाफाश …” (translation in English – Watch with the television camera INC SMRITI Irani of the lie exposed…”
Additionally, the official Congress Twitter account for Bharat Jodo Yatra also shared posts from Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Vivekananda Rock Memorial. The video shared on September 7 is captioned as follows: “Every step taken in #BharatJodoYatra will reinforce Swami Vivekananda’s teachings on universal brotherhood. It is only natural that Shri @RahulGandhi and the Congress party seek his blessing before the launch.”
while the other Publish from the same day Gandhi stands before the statue of Swami Vivekanand is shared with one of his quotes which read, “They alone live, who live for others.”
Srinivas BV, the national chairman of the Indian Youth Congress, shared a post that compares Smriti Irani’s statement and Asia News International (ANI)’s Twitter post of Rahul Gandhi circling the Swami Vivekananda statue at the memorial .
Srinivas captioned it in Hindi, “Chal Jhoothi… इतना ‘Silly’ झूठ बोलते हुए शर्म नही आती?” (English translation – Liar. Aren’t you ashamed to lie so ‘idiot’?)
Conclusion:
It is apparent from the visuals mentioned above that Rahul Gandhi visited the Vivekananda memorial on September 7 in Kanyakumari and paid his respects to Swami Vivekananda before starting the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
If you have any news that you think needs to be checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or whatsapp on 6364000343.
Also Read: No, These Images Of Luxury Motorhomes Are Not Rahul Gandhi’s Accommodation During Bharat Jodo Yatra
