Social media users are sharing old news reports to claim that Bharatiya Janata Party has promised to provide good quality beef if they form government in Kerala.
BOOM found that BJP leader N Sreeprakash had promised good quality beef and standard abattoirs in his constituency if he won the 2017 Malappuram Lok Sabha by-poll.
Meanwhile, a 23-second-long India TV news report from 2017 about Sreeprakash's poll promise has been revived and is being shared with misleading claims on social media.
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A Twitter user shared the India TV video with a Hindi caption which translates to 'Anything for power. BJP's promise in Kerala. Vote for us and we will arrange good beef'.
(Hindi: कुर्सी के लिए कुछ भी केरल मे भाजपा का वादा हमें वोट दो हम अच्छे बीफ का इंतजाम करेंगे)
The archived post can be viewed here.
The video is viral from several Twitter handles with similar claims.
Click here for archive.
The archived post can be viewed here.
Click here for archive.
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Meanwhile, Congress leaders Szarita Laitphlang and Salman Nizami have shared a 2017 Hindustan Times article on Sreeprakash's poll promise claiming it to be 'BJP's hypocrisy'.
The archived post can be viewed here.
The archived post can be viewed here.
Fact Check
BOOM did a keyword search on YouTube with the words "India TV sreekumar bjp beef" and found a video titled 'Kerala BJP candidate promises of good quality beef if voted to power'.
The video was uploaded on India TV's YouTube channel on April 3, 2017.
However, it is to be noted that one of the anchors erroneously states that the by poll was for the Malappuram Assembly seat when in fact it was for the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency.
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Similarly, the Hindustan Times article being shared clearly mentions that Sreeprakash made the promise in 2017 in the run up to the Lok Sabha bypoll.The headline of the article reads 'BJP candidate for Kerala Lok Sabha bypoll promises quality beef if elected.'
Sreeprakash's poll promise had also been reported by The News Minute, Times of India, Outlook among other media outlets.
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BOOM couldn't find any news reports on BJP's official stand on beef consumption in Kerala. However, when asked about his opinion on beef consumption in Kerala in an interview with NDTV, E Sreedharan had stated that he was personally against meat consumption of any kind.
The assembly elections will be held in Kerala on April 6, 2021 with the counting of votes scheduled on May 2, 2021. While the elections are predicted to be a two-person contest between the incumbent LDF government led by Pinarayi Vijayan and the Congress-led UDF alliance, the BJP is hoping to increase their foothold in the state.
BJP is expected to announce its list of candidates for the Kerala assembly elections on March 7, 2021.