Did BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri Use A Derogatory Word For Farmers? A FactCheck

A viral video shared by Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) social media handles falsely claims that BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri used a derogatory word to describe farmers who are participating in the ongoing protests at Delhi's borders.

On Tuesday, social media accounts of AAP posted a video of Bidhuri and alleged he used the Hindi swear word bh**wa (pimp) with reference to protesting farmers. The party has also demanded that the Bharatiya Janata Party expel Bidhuri from the party over his remarks.

However, BOOM heard the video and found that Bidhuri says thalua (idler) and thaluey in the video which phonetically resemble the derogatory term but it is not the same as claimed by AAP.

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The clip is viral in the backdrop of the ongoing protest wherein farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at the borders of Delhi since November 26 protesting against the three farm bills passed by the Parliament recently.

The 45-second-long viral clip has been culled from a longer speech of the Delhi BJP's MP in Kalkaji earlier this week.

A Hindi caption with the viral clip translates to 'The farmer who provides us food is being openly abused by BJP MP. What would be more shameful'.

(Hindi: जो किसान हमें भोजन देता है, उसी अन्नदाता को सरेआम गाली दे रहे हैं भाजपा के सांसद। इससे शर्मनाक क्या होगा?)

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The same video has been shared by Aam Aadmi party's Instagram and Twitter handles.

Social media users were quick to pick up the video and share it on Facebook and Twitter with misleading claims.

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The video was also tweeted by Samajwadi Party national secretary and spokesperson Rajeev Rai with a Hindi caption which translates to 'Protesting farmers are pimps: BJP MP'. Your language proves what you are and what are your leaders'.

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Fact Check

BOOM heard the video closely and found that the Hindi word in Bidhuri's speech which is being misquoted as bh**wa (pimp) is actually thalua (idler).

In the 45-second-long viral clip, Bidhuri says in Hindi, "How many farmers are there? And how many are sitting at the orders...500 at place, 25 at some, fifteen hundred at other places...so these people sit here utilising the money that comes in from Canada and Pakistan. These are actually idlers you find in every village and these idlers are sitting because they are getting good food, warm water, quilts...and they have to remove Modi. That's why they are sitting there, brothers and sisters. You have accorded me a warm welcome here and I would thanks you all before ending my speech'.

(Hindi: कितने किसान हैं ? और बॉर्डरों पर बैठें कितने हैं...कहीं पांच सौ, कहीं ढाई सौ, कहीं डेढ़ हज़ार ...तो वो सब के सब कनाडा से आये हुए पैसों को लेकर, पाकिस्तान से आये पैसे को लेकर ...जो, जो, जो ठलवे होतें हैं हर गाँव में पांच, सात, दस, पांच सात..वो ठलवे बैठे हुए हैं कि खाने को फ़ोकट का मिल रहा है, गरम पानी मिल रहा है, गरम रजाई मिल रही है...और मोदी को हटाना है | इसीलिए वो बैठे हैं भाइयों, बहनों..आपलोग यहाँ पर आपलोगो ने स्वागत मेरा किया, आपलोगों ने आभार व्यक्क्त किया ...इसके लिए मैं आपका सबका धन्यवाद कहते हुए अपनी वाणी को विराम दूंगा..आप सबका बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद |)

BOOM then searched for the original video from where the viral portion is culled, and found it uploaded on the MP's verified Facebook page on December 21, 2020.

According to the caption with the 17-minute-long video, Bidhuri was addressing people at Kalkaji constituency in Delhi explaining them the benefits of the new farm bills.

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The contested portion of the MP's speech appears at the timestamp of 16.37 in the video. Since the audio in this clip is clearer, one can hear Bidhuri saying thalua and thaluey towards the end of his speech.

We then tried contacting Ramesh Bidhuri to get more details on the incident. We spoke to Bidhuri's personal assistant Anuj Bidhuri who refuted the viral claims.

"The word that they (AAP) are claiming as bh**wa is actually thalua. We are rustic people, we speak that language. MP saheb himself is a farmer. In villages, idlers are called thalua (ठलवा) or thaali (ठाली)," Anuj Bidhuri told BOOM.

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