Video of protest by Congress youth wing wrongly linked to ongoing farmers' protest in India

By: Rajini KG
February 20 2024

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Screenshot from the the viral video shared online. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

What's the claim?

In the wake of the farmers' protests in India, a video is doing the rounds on social media claiming to show how the protestors are being 'mistreated' by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The video is a montage of three clips showing water canons being deployed against the protestors and barricades placed to stop them. It also shows police personnel detaining some protestors. Archived links of posts sharing the video in link with the ongoing farmers' protest can be viewed here and here.

Online posts sharing the viral video. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the clips shared in the viral video are from a protest held by the Congress party. It is unrelated to the farmers' protest. 

What is the truth?

The voiceover in the viral video stated that members of Youth Congress (the grand old party's youth wing) held a protest against the BJP government in Bhopal. A logo on the top right corner of the top clip read, "BHARAT JODO NYAY YATRA" and "ROZGAR DO NYAY DO."

We found that the same video was shared on the X account of Srinivas BV, national president of the Indian Youth Congress, on February 13. It was captioned, "Today, the process of raising voice against the injustice of unemployment continues with thousands of Youth Congress workers in Bhopal. Use water cannons, use lathis but give employment to unemployed youth and give justice (translated from Hindi)."

(Source: X)

Visuals of this protest in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, were also posted by the Indian Youth Congress on Instagram and the news channel India Today on YouTube. These visuals matched scenes from the viral video in question. 

According to The Times of India, Youth Congress workers marched against unemployment and unfulfilled manifesto promises by the state BJP government on February 13. Several Youth Congress leaders, including Srinivas BV, were part of the march. Police used barricades and water cannons to disperse the protestors and detained many of them, the report added.

The protest was held under the aegis of the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,' a political foot march led by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, which started from Manipur on January 14. According to the Congress, the rally aims to address the social and political injustice in India. The yatra will cover over 6,000 km and will end in Mumbai.

Ongoing farmers' protest

Farmers have been congregating at the national capital's borders, two years after their long-drawn protests were halted, to renew their demands for an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Police have deployed barricades, wires, and nails at the capital borders to stop the protestors from entering the capital. When protestors tried to break the police barricades at the Punjab-Haryana border, police used teargas to disperse the protestors, news outlets reported.

While force has been used against the farmers, the viral video is unrelated to their protests. 

The verdict

The video of police using water cannons at Youth Congress workers in Bhopal to disperse the protesters has been shared with the false claim that it shows visuals from the ongoing farmers' agitation. Therefore, we marked this claim as false.