By Srijit Das
An old video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi facing 'Go Back' slogans in Assam is being circulated with a false claim that it shows how locals in Manipur protested against him during his recent visit to the state.
BOOM found that the video from Assam shows Gandhi facing a protest in Nagaon district while visiting a roadside eatery in January this year.
The video shows anti-Rahul Gandhi slogans being raised, as Gandhi walks out of a shop. Posters of Rahul Gandhi go back and Rakibul Hussain go back can also be seen.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, visited Manipur on July 8 and stated that he did not witness any improvement in the state following the ethnic violence that erupted last year. The Congress leader also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the state as more than 200 people lost their lives due to fierce ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities. Gandhi also added that he will keep pressure on the government so that it takes necessary steps to bring back peace in Manipur.
Amid this, several right-wing X handles shared the video with the caption, “Rahul Gandhi go back” Locals protesting against Rahul Gandhi in Manipur , people have asked him to leave Manipur because his inflammatory speeches could lead to further unrest in the state …"
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
The video is also circulating with a similar misleading caption in Hindi.
Click here to view a post and here for the archive.
Fact Check
BOOM noticed that the video contains a watermark of news agency ANI. Following that lead, we ran a relevant keyword search and found the same video uploaded on ANI's official X handle on January 21, 2024.
The video was uploaded with the caption, "Assam: A large number of people carrying posters of 'Rahul Gandhi go back' and 'Anyaya Yatra' held a protest against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Ambagan area of Nagaon this evening."
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
We also found several other news reports from that time about the incident. A Press Trust of India article published by NDTV from January 22, 2024, reported that the incident took place in Assam's Nagaon district during the Congress leader's visit to the area while leading his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay' rally.
It states, "The incident took place when Mr Gandhi and some other leaders stopped at the restaurant in Ambagan on way to their night halt in Rupohi, about 10 km from the site. The crowd raised slogans against the MP and also displayed placards with messages such as 'Anyay Yatra' and 'Rakibul go back', referring to Samaguri Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain."
Assamese news outlet News Live also published a video report carrying visuals of the protest at time.
Additionally, we were able to geolocate the 'Puja Gift Store' shop in Assam's Nagaon that can be seen in the viral video. A glimpse of the same shop on Google Street View can be seen below.
