A video of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani is being widely shared on social media platforms ahead of the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly elections set to begin shortly. The video is being circulated among SP supporters with the claim that Irani has accepted the BJP's defeat to the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP).
BOOM found that the viral clip has been cropped out from a longer video and is being shared with a misleading claim. Irani can be heard attacking the SP in the original video.
The Hindi caption with the video translates to, "Smriti accepted that Akhilesh is coming".
(Original Text in Hindi: स्मृति ने स्वीकार किया कि आ रहे है अखिलेश)
In the video, the BJP leader can be heard saying, "you may think that the candidate is roaming around with a hand pump, I am talking about the cycle, but if the RLD gets support and votes then a government will be formed by the red-hatted people (Samajwadi Party)."
(Smriti Irani's Speech in Hindi: आपको लगता होगा प्रत्याशी हैंडपंप लेकर घूम रहा है, मैं साईकिल की बात कर रही हूं, लेकिन आरएलडी को अगर वोट पड़ा, समर्थन मिला तो लाल टोपी वालों की सरकार होगी।)
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Fact Check
BOOM listened to Irani's speech from the viral clip. Taking a cue from this, we did a keyword search in Hindi and found a Dainik Bhaskar report in Hindi published on February 6, 2022. The article states that Smriti Irani said those words during a rally at Baghpat in western Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP leader said, "When Samajwadi Party leaders were asked why they opened fire on innocent Ram devotees, the SP leaders had said that if they had to kill, they would have killed more. That's why I have not come just to ask for votes for Sahendra ji. I have come to seek votes for every Ram devotee who was put to death by the SP government."
We again did a keyword search in Hindi matching the same words on YouTube and found a Punjab Kesari UP video premiered on February 6, 2022. The video can be seen below.
Irani can be heard in the extended version of the video also said, "the women have said that they will not allow to form the SP-RLD coalition government. Now, I came here to hear what the brothers have to say."
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