An old video purportedly showing Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami distributing cash in exchange for votes is viral online as recent.
BOOM found that the video dates back to 2022 and was taken during the Uttarakhand assembly elections when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and Dhami of buying votes.
The viral video is divided in two parts, one shows an envelope with the name of Shiv Arora, that has Rs 1000 in it. The second part shows CM Dhami being confronted by a group of people for distributing cash in exchange for votes.
Congress worker and X user @AdarshKatiyarINC shared the video with the sarcastic caption, "Dhami ji exposing Modi ji's 400+ (seats). #ElectionCommission #Elections2024"
(Original text in Hindi: "मोदी जी के 400 पार का ढोल फाड़ते पुस्कर धामी जी #ElectionCommission #Elections2024")
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
The post is also being shared on Facebook with similar captions.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from February 2022 and was taken during the assembly elections in Uttarakhand when the AAP accused Dhami of buying votes.
We looked at the viral video closely and found that the envelope with the money carried the name of Shiv Arora, who was said to be a BJP candidate at the time. In the background, a person could be heard speaking in Hindi, "See how Shiv Arora is distributing 1000 Rs in envelopes for your votes."
Taking a cue from this, we ran a search for the incident using Hindi keywords, 'Shiv Arora accused of distributing BJP money'
We also found that Shiv Arora is a BJP MLA from Rudrapur, Uttarakhand and a video of the incident was shared on YouTube by News18 UP/ Uttarakhand on February 7, 2022. The video was titled 'BJP Candidate Shiv Arora Accused of Distributing Money While Campaigning'
We also found a report by Hindi news outlet Jansatta published on February 14, 2022, stating that the Congress and AAP accused Uttarakhand CM Dhami of buying votes. The visuals in this report matched the visuals of Dhami in the viral video. The report also mentioned that Dhami was also accused of distributing money in his constituency of Khatima.
We also found an X post by the Uttarakhand unit of AAP on February 13, carrying the same video of Dhami. It was captioned, "What is happening in Khatima @pushkardhami After the election campaign is over, money is being distributed openly. When Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Khatima @sskaleraap himself caught Dhami red handed, Dhami tried to get the camera switched off. @ECISVEEP and @UttarakhandCEO should take cognizance of this soon."
(Original text in Hindi: "खटीमा में ये क्या हो रहा है? @pushkardhami चुनाव प्रचार खत्म होने के बाद खुलेआम पैसे बाँट रहे हैं। खटीमा से आम आदमी पार्टी के प्रत्याशी @sskaleraap ने खुद धामी को रंगे हाथों पकड़ा तो धामी ने कैमेरा बंद कराने की कोशिश की। @ECISVEEP व @UttarakhandCEO जल्द इसका संज्ञान लें।"
In this video, one person can be heard confronting Dhami, after which the CM appeals to the people to stop recording, which they refuse to do.
We also found that, Jai Bharat TV, a local Facebook page from Uttarakhand, had shared the both viral videos on February 13, 2022. They shows CM Dhami being accused of distributing money and the envelope of money with Shiv Arora's name.
While BOOM could not independently verify whether Dhami distributed the money, the video has been online since February 2022 and hence is unrelated to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.