A cropped video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being shared on social media with a false claim that Modi expressed doubts over Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) before becoming the prime minister.
In the video the PM can be heard saying, "...brothers and sisters, when an election takes place in educated countries, ballot papers are used even today also. People read the names and then put a stamp. This thing happens even in America."
The 20-second-long video has been shared with a Hindi caption which translates to, "Before becoming the Prime Minister, on the issue of EVMs, Narendra Modi's statement (has been) found with great difficulty. Do listen."
(Original Text in Hindi: प्रधानमंत्री नहीं बनने से पहले ईवीएम के मुद्दे पर नरेंद्र मोदी जी का एक पुराना बयान बड़ी मुश्किल से मिला है। जरूर सुनिए।)
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Fact Check
BOOM found that the viral video is cropped and being shared out of context. The claim that the video was recorded before Modi became PM in 2014 is false.
We did a relevant keyword search related to Modi's speech on ballot paper and found a video which was streamed live on Modi's official YouTube channel on December 3, 2016.
The caption of the video reads as, "PM Modi at Parivartan Rally in New Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh". Modi can be heard talking about the technological advancements in India, in the full version of the video.
Unlike India, where elections are conducted by a single authority - the Election Commission of India or of a particular state - where EVMs are uniformly used, the states making up the United States conduct the elections over there. Thus, all 50 states have varying methods to conduct elections, that includes electronic voting, or ballot papers or both.
The part in the viral video can be heard at the 55:19 mark. Hearing the video it is clear that Modi is speaking about India's advancements when it comes to using Electronic Voting Machines as compared to the United States that uses ballot paper.
The prime minister says the following: "Some people claim our country is poor, our people are uneducated, they do not know anything. Brothers and sisters, when an election takes place in educated countries, ballot papers are used even today also. People read the names and then put a stamp. This thing happens even in America. This is India, the people who you call uneducated, poor, they know the process to caste their votes pressing buttons.
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