A video clip showing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath standing in front of a makeshift barricade at the entrance of a lane is viral with captions purportedly claiming that the CM was stopped from visiting the area by an angry local.
BOOM found that the lane in question was a containment zone and the barricading was in place to restrict movement in the area.
The chief minister had on May 16 visited Noida, Meerut and Ghaziabad to review measures being taken to tackle the deadly wave of Coronavirus. As part of this whirlwind tour, Yogi Adityanath had also visited several areas in Meerut and the viral video was recorded in one such locality of Bijauli village.
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The 70-second-long viral video shot on a mobile phone from the terrace of a building shows the chief minister standing in front of a makeshift barricade with folded hands. A coterie of security persons can be seen behind him. He interacts with an old man standing on the other side of the barricade for some moments before leaving.
Several social media users, including verified Twitter handles, have shared the video with captions suggesting that the CM was stopped by an old man from entering his lane.
Click here to view the post and here to view an archived version.
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The video was also shared by the State President of Western UP Youth Congress Omveer Yadav with a Hindi caption translating to 'Enough!!! We don't need you - An old man from Bijauli district of Meerut stopped chief minister Yogi Adityanath from entering his lane by placing a cot. Despite several requests by the chief minister, the old man did not allow him enter the lane'.
(ब्रेकिंग न्यूज़- बस करो अब हमें आपकी ज़रूरत नहीं है- जनपद मेरठ के बिजौली गांव में एक बुजुर्ग ने मुख्यमंत्री योगी आदित्यनाथ को अपनी एक गली में खाट खड़ी कर जाने से रोक दिया मुख्यमंत्री जी के लाख कहने पर भी बुजुर्ग ने रास्ता नहीं खोला और योगी जी को वापस जाना पड़ा !!
The video has been shared with similar caption from several Twitter handles.
Fact Check
BOOM watched the video closely. Here's the interaction in Hindi that takes place in the video.
Someone in the background says, this is the chief minister. A few seconds later, Yogi Adityanath can be heard saying, "Stay careful, wear masks and old people should not go out of their homes. Ok, take care and please wear mask everyone."
(Hindi: ये हैं मुख्यमंत्री साहब !! योगी आदित्यनाथ: सावधानी रखिये, मास्क लगाइये और बुज़ुर्ग लोगों को घर से बाहर नहीं निकलना चाहिए, ठीक है ना. ध्यान रखिये, मास्क सभी लोग लगाइये )
At no point in the video did we hear any confrontational statement.
BOOM also found a reply from Meerut police to the tweet wherein Omveer Yadav has shared the viral video. The Meerut police, in its tweet, calls claims made with the viral video baseless and misleading.
The Meerut police, in its statement, said 'Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met a Covid positive patient in a containment zone in Bijauli village of Meerut and asked after his health. He also visited the Primary Health Centre of the village and interacted with members of the Rapid Response Team. He also visited the Bijauli oxygen plant. Since it is a containment zone, a makeshift barricade has been arranged by putting up a cot and a rope. Therefore, please don't spread rumors or legal action will be initiated'.
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