A 2011 video of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari criticising former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the Anna Hazare led Lokpal movement is being shared with a false claim that Gadkari spoke out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calling protesters 'Andolanjivi'.
'Andolankari' in Hindi means an agitator whereas 'andolanjivi' is a word coined by the prime minister to sarcastically describe a person who jumps from one protest to another. PM Modi in his speech in Lok Sabha on February 10, 2021, talking on the ongoing farmers' protests had taken a jibe at the protesters saying that it is important of differentiating between 'Andolankari' and 'Andolanjivi' saying the latter are the ones who hijacked the farmers' movement for their vested interests.
In the viral clip, Gadkari can be heard saying that what the prime minister is saying is against democracy and protesting against the corrupt leader/government is a constitutional right.
The clip is being shared with the claim that Gadkari is speaking against PM Modi for his 'Andholanjivi' remark with caption when translated reads, "Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in the presence of Ravi Shankar Prasad on Andholanjivi word used by the Prime Minister openly criticized and condemned the word! #आंदोलनजीवी."
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(In Hindi - केन्द्रीय मंत्री नितिन गड़करी ने रवि शंकर प्रसाद की उपस्थिति में प्रंधानमंत्री के #आंदोलनजीवी शब्द पर प्रधानमंत्री की खुले आम आलोचना एवं भर्त्सना की! #आंदोलनजीवी)
Viral on Twitter
BOOM found that several Congress workers tweeted the viral clip.
Click here to view, and here for an archive.
Click here to view, and here for an archive.
BOOM also received the viral clip on our WhatsApp helpline number (7700906111) inquiring about it.
Also Read: Old Video Falsely Shared As Pawar Slapped For Criticising Tendulkar
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral clip is from August 15, 2011, when Nitin Gadkari, then BJP president was criticising former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Independence Day speech in which the latter had decried hunger strikes amid the then anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare who was set to being his fast the next day.
On performing a keyword search we found that the viral clip was uploaded on YouTube on August 16, 2011, on BJP's official channel with the caption, "BJP Byte: Anna Hazare & Prime Minister"
In the original clip, Gadkari can be heard making the same statements as in the viral clip.
In his Independence Day speech, Singh had then said that there is no magic wand to do so and decried hunger strikes as a means to achieve the objective, in an apparent reference to Anna Hazare who was scheduled to begin fast on August 16, 2011, reported PTI on August 15, 2011.
The statements made by Gadkari in the viral clip were also reported back then. "There is a policy that if you hold a protest, we will not allow it. The way this government is working and the statement that the Prime Minister made is completely against democracy," Gadkari had said reported PTI on August 15, 2011.
BOOM has debunked misinformation around the farmers' protests. Several false claims had gone viral to target the protesting farmers and old photos, videos being shared as recent.
Follow our thread on misinformation around the farmers' protests.