A video of Kerala Congress leaders stumbling out after breakfast at a restaurant in Oachira, Kollam district in Kerala during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, is being shared with the false claim that they are exiting the place in a drunken state.
BOOM spoke to Ansar A Malabar, owner of Hotel Malabar where the video was shot, who denied the claim that the Kerala Congress leaders were drunk and explained that some members along with Rahul Gandhi had visited his restaurant at 8 am on September 17, 2022, for breakfast, while taking a break from the yatra.
The owner Malabar further explained that the restaurant does not serve alcohol.
Further, we geo-located and matched the location in the viral video with other live video footage from the yatra which colloborate the same series of events.
In its 15th day of the 150-day long Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi and other prominent Congress leaders are walking through the state of Kerala. The foot march, which began in Kanyakumari, is supposed to reach Karnataka on September 30 and will traverse several states before it reaches Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, the end point of the yatra.
In the viral video, several senior Kerala Congress leaders including the working president of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee Kodikunnil Suresh are seen walking out of a restaurant with some of them stumbling and missing the last step near the exit.
After some time we see Rahul Gandhi exiting the place greeted with applause from the people present. We can also hear voices in the background talking in Malayalam anticipating Gandhi coming out of the hotel.
Rishi Bagree tweeted the viral video with the caption, "Intoxicated Inebriated Drunken Yatra". BOOM has previously debunked misinformation tweeted by Bagree.
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Twitter account @befittingFacts tweeted the video with the caption, "Are they coming drunk at Bharat Jodo Yatra? Wait for Rahul Gandhi at the end."
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The video is also viral on Facebook in Malayalam with the misleading caption.
(Text - അടിച്ച സാധനം ഏതെന്ന് പറഞ്ഞാൽ ന്റെ വക ഒരു വോഡ്ക്ക ഫ്രീ)
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from September 17, 2022, when Rahul Gandhi and other Kerala Congress leaders with him on the Bharat Jodo Yatra stopped to have breakfast at a restaurant in Oachira, Kollam district in Kerala.
On viewing the viral video, we can see that the floor elevation changes where the marble floor ends near the exit of the restaurant, which explains why some of the Congress leaders stumbled while walking past this step.
We searched with Malayalam keywords for Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra visuals, and found a Facebook post from September 17, 2022, by Congress leader Dr. Shama Mohamed.
Mohamed posted a Facebook live video at 8.08 am on September 17, 2022, where she states that Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders took a break from the yatra and stopped for tea. At the 17 second timestamp during the live video, we can see the restaurant's name - Hotel Malabar in Oachira, Kollam district in Kerala.
Click here to view the live
We then checked the interior of the restaurant visible on Google Maps with the location seen in the viral video and found that they match. We can also see that the floor matches the one in the viral video.
Additionally, we also checked the live footage of Bharat Jodo Yatra telecast by Congress's official Twitter handle which started at 6.43 am on September 17, 2022. From the 1:17:00 minutes timetamp, we can see the same hotel - Hotel Malabar, where Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders enter to have breakfast.
We can then see them exiting the restaurant at around 1:41:00 minute timestamp and resuming the yatra. The same senior Congress leaders including Kodikunnil Suresh seen in the viral video can be seen here walking steadily with Rahul Gandhi.
View the whole live feed below
"No alcohol is served at my restaurant:" Ansar A Malabar, Hotel Malabar owner
BOOM then contacted Hotel Malabar owner - Ansar A Malabar, who told us that on September 17, 2022, after Bharat Jodo Yatra started, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders reached his hotel by 8:00 am and they were there until 8:30 am.
Malabar rubbished the viral claim stating, "The claim that they consumed alcohol is fake since the hotel does not serve any alcohol" and adding that he also has CCTV footage as proof for this.
Malabar further told us what was eaten by the senior Kerala Congress leaders and Rahul Gandhi while at his restaurant. "Rahul Gandhi had an omelet, two coffees, a cake, and other Congress leaders had appam, chickpea curry and tea," Malabar told BOOM.