A video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has gone viral on social media in which he says, “गांधी जी की फोटो में आपको 3-4 महिलाएं दिखेंगी ही दिखेंगी। कभी आपने मोहन भागवत जी के साथ किसी महिला की फोटो देखी है? नहीं देखी” (Which translates in English as: “You must have seen images of Mahatma Gandhi in which you will see at least three-four women with him, but you won’t be able to see a single lady with Mohan Bhagwat.”)
The video is being shared to claim that Rahul Gandhi is taking a jibe at Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation. It insinuates that Rahul Gandhi showed Mahatman Gandhi as a womaniser while appreciates that RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat for not having even a single woman along with him.
Indian filmmaker Ashoke Pandit shared the video with the caption, “This is the man who aspires to be the PM of the country. Koi yeh to bataye yeh bolna kya chahta hain.”
Source: Screenshot/Twitter
Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal shared the video of Ashoke Pandit, the link of which can be seen here and its archive can be seen here.
Source: Screenshot/Twitter
India Today’s journalist Shiv Aroor also shared the video with an emoji of a facepalm. The link of the Tweet can be seen here and its archive can be seen here.
Source: Screenshot/Twitter
Many Twitter users are sharing the post which can be seen here.
The post is also viral on Facebook.
Source: Facebook
FactO Check:
On searching with the keywords, ‘Rahul, Mahatma Gandhi, Mohan Bhagwat’, we found a longer version of the same video uploaded on the Facebook page of the Indian National Congress, Uttar Pradesh on September 16, 2021. The video is shared with a caption that reads, “गांधी जी की फोटो में आपको 3-4 महिलाएं दिखेंगी ही दिखेंगी। कभी आपने मोहन भागवत जी के साथ किसी महिला की फोटो देखी है? नहीं देखी; क्योंकि इनका संगठन महिला शक्ति का दमन करता है, हमारा संगठन महिला शक्ति को एक मंच देता है। ~ श्री Rahul Gandhi जी.” (In Gandhi Ji’s photo you will definitely see 3-4 women. Have you ever seen the photo of any female with Mohan Bhagwat Ji? You must have not seen; Because their organisation is against women empowerment, our organisation gives space to women empowerment.”)
Source: Facebook/Screenshot
The official YouTube channel of the Indian National Congress had also uploaded the full speech of Rahul Gandhi on September 15, 2021. At around 17: 57 timestamp Rahul Gandhi can be seen making the viral remark. The title of the video mentions, “Shri Rahul Gandhi addresses Mahila Congress Foundation Day.”
Conclusion: Hence, in the original video, Rahul Gandhi says that Congress has been inclusive of women, however, a part of this video has been clipped to claim that Rahul Gandhi was taking a jibe at Mahatma Gandhi. The above claims are misleading.
