An old video of former Congress member and now supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Acharya Pramod Krishnam, speaking about ending caste-based reservation in India at a rally is viral online as recent.
BOOM found that the claims are misleading, the video of Krishnam is from September 2023 and he made these statements when he was a part of the Congress. He was expelled from Congress in February this year.
In the viral video, Krishnam can be heard saying, "Politicians who accuse us of casteism are the ones who are politicians only for a few castes. They threaten us. I want to say this: in the next Maha Kumbh, there should be a proposal to remove casteism from India. Babasaheb Ambedkar has given this to us in the preamble, discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, and gender is not allowed. If he has done this for us, then you should think about how caste-based reservation is dividing India. Whoever agrees with me, please raise your hands. For the next Maha Kumbh, we will propose to free India from caste-based reservation."
Supriya Shrinate, Chairperson of Congress' Social Media and Digital Platforms, shared the video on X with the caption, "We will change the constitution - this is not just an immature statement of BJP leaders, this is the intention and thinking of Narendra Modi, RSS and BJP. Acharya Pramod Krishnan, a close aide of Modi, is directly demanding the abolition of reservation. We will never allow such feudal thinking to succeed"
(Original text in Hindi: "संविधान बदलेंगे - यह सिर्फ़ BJP नेताओं का अपरिपक्व बयान नहीं है, यह मंसूबे और सोच नरेंद्र मोदी, RSS और BJP की है. मोदी के करीबी आचार्य प्रमोद कृष्णन तो सीधे सीधे आरक्षण ख़त्म करने की माँग कर रहे हैं. ऐसी सामन्तवादी सोच को हम क़तई कामयाब नहीं होने देंगे")
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Another user shared the video on Facebook with a similar caption, that read "BREAKING NEWS. Acharya Pramod Krishnam, close aide of Narendra Modi has claimed that if BJP wins 2024 then Modi should scrap the reservation. "The reservation given to SC, ST and OBC should be finished by Modi in third term and constitution should be changed too" Spread this video as much as you can, on WhatsApp Instagram Twitter. Everywhere. They should be exposed nationwide before Phase III polling."
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FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the the video is from September 2023 and shows Krishnam making the statement while he was still a part of the Congress and is unrelated to the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
We noticed the logo of BGT News on the viral video and ran a search on its YouTube channel for a longer version of the speech delivered by Acharya Pramod Krishnam. We found a 7-minute long video uploaded by BGT News on September 27, 2023 with a Hindi title that can roughly be translated to, "Acharya Pramod Krishnam's challenge from the stage, don't try to threaten Brahmins."
(Original title in Hindi: "Stage से Acharya Pramod Krishnam की चुनौती Brahmans को धमकाने की कोशिश मत करना !")
The portion of the viral video begins from 1:28 timestamp where Krishnam's viral statement can be heard.
We also found that in a recent interview with ANI on April 28, Krishnam addressed the viral video and slammed the Congress for sharing the old clip. He said, "My statements have been linked to PM Modi. But the truth is, when I delivered this address, I was a part of the Congress."
He also claimed that party workers in Congress at the time had praised him for his comments, and criticised their "character assassination" of PM Modi.
We found that Krishnam's original statement from the viral video was made during the Brahmin Mahakumbh event in Haridwar on September 24, 2023, while he was still a part of the Congress. He was expelled from the party on February 10, 2024, for his "indiscipline" and "repeated anti-party statements." Reports suggested that he was expelled for criticising the Congress and calling it anti-Hindu after top leaders of the party declined to attend the Ram temple's consecration ceremony in Ayodhya earlier this year.
Following his expulsion, Krishnam also met PM Modi on February 19, 2024, in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh where the latter laid the foundation stone of the Kalki Dham temple. During the time of their meeting, speculation of Krishnam joining the Bharatiya Janata Party was rife.
