An old, cropped video of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manohar Lal Khattar has surfaced with a false claim that it shows him breaking down after his resignation from the chief ministerial position in Haryana.
BOOM found that the video is from 2021 and shows Khattar's dismay over Congress leader Bhupendra Singh Hooda sitting on a tractor during a protest as female MLAs pull the vehicle with a rope.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was recently nominated by the BJP to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Karnal constituency in the state. On March 13, he sparked political speculation by tendering a sudden resignation as the MLA from the Karnal assembly constituency. Following his nomination by the party leadership for the Lok Sabha seat, Khattar extended his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief JP Nadda. The video is circulating in this context.
After Khattar's resignation, the BJP's Nayab Singh Saini, took the oath as the new Chief Minister of Haryana.
A verified X user uploaded the video with a Hindi caption that translates to, "These tears of Manohar Lal Khattar ji will cost Modi ji heavily in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections."
(Original Text in Hindi: मनोहर लाल खट्टर जी के ये आंसू मोदी जी को 2024 के लोकसभा चुनाव में भारी पड़ेंगे।)
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a related keyword search in Hindi and found that several news outlets had reported about the footage on March 10, 2021.
Live Hindustan's YouTube channel shared a longer version of the video, with a Hindi caption that translates to, "Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar was seen crying in the assembly during the budget session."
In the video report, Khattar said that he watched Congress leader Bhupendra Singh Hooda on television and was upset upon seeing Hooda sitting on a tractor during a protest, with the party's female MLAs pulling the vehicle with a rope. While making these statements in the assembly, Khattar wiped his tears.
We also found several news reports covering the incident where Hooda sat on a tractor pulled by party legislators en-route the Assembly.
The Indian Express on March 13, 2021, reported about the incident, "Taking suo moto notice of the March 8 incident outside Haryana Vidhan Sabha where leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda sat on a tractor that was pulled with ropes by Congress women MLAs, Haryana State Commission for Women (HSCW) has sought Hooda’s “strict explanation” on the incident."
The report also added that Congress MLA Shakuntla Khatak, in response to the controversy, had defended Hooda, asserting that there was no distinction between men and women, and thus, there was nothing inappropriate about women MLAs pulling the tractor.
One such coverage by Amar Ujala about the controversy can be seen below.
