Social media users have recently been sharing a video of a stone-pelting incident, claiming that it shows protesting farmers attacking a BJP MLA. The clip shows a mob throwing stones at a car as it tries to move out.
“#Haryana Huge wave of anger against the farmer bills. Look at how BJP MLA Uday Singh was welcomed by farmers. #Farmers #KhattarYogiKisaanVirodhi (CM Yogi and Khattar are anti-farmer),” reads the accompanying message. (Archive link)
#हरियाणा.##किसान बिल के विरोध में #रुझान आने लगे..
पहला #भूमि सूजन #भाजपा विधायक #उदय सिंह का
“””””””””””””जोरदार स्वागत किसानों द्वारा..#Farmers#KhattarYogiKisaanVirodhipic.twitter.com/Vga9cFTzUr
— PUNJAB KISAN UNION (@PunjabKisanUnio) December 28, 2020
This video is also viral on Facebook.
#हरियाणा
#किसान बिल के विरोध में #रुझान आने लगे..पहला #भूमि सूजन #भाजपा विधायक #उदय सिंह सिंह का
“””””””””””””Posted by Rjd Manish Yaduvanshi on Friday, December 25, 2020
Dozens of other users also made similar claims online.
Fact-check
Alt News performed a reverse image search of the frames of the video using specific keywords and found a report dated November 28, 2020. It states that there was a clash between two factions during polling in the Sediya Gram Panchayat of Rajasthan’s Jalore district on November 27, 2020. “In the clash, both groups also pelted stones at each other, resulting in damage to the Congress candidate’s car and minor injuries to two supporters,” the report reads. This altercation occurred due to a tiff between Congress members Mohan Kumar and Suresh Siyag. Mohan Kumar is a former member of the Pradesh Congress Committee and Suresh Siyag is the District Congress General Secretary. Both of their mothers were candidates in the Sarnau Panchayat Samiti elections. During the voting process, supporters of both parties accused each other of casting fake votes, which led to a clash.
Rajasthan Bharti, a local media outlet, reported about the incident. We reached out to Dinesh Kumar Male from Rajasthan Bharti. He told Alt News that a reporter from their organisation was present at the time of the incident and also made a video which the outlet has published on its website. “This incident is of Jalore’s Chitwala. When the Panchayat Samiti elections were being held, there was a fight between two factions of the Congress and independent candidates,” Dinesh said.
Dainik Bhaskar‘s report also corroborates this.
We then reached out to the SHO of Sanchore who similarly said, “There was a fight between the two parties at the time of elections. This incident happened around December. The Karada police station was dealing with this matter.”
Furthermore, it is noteworthy that there no BJP MLA named ‘Uday Singh‘ in Haryana.
Therefore, the video was falsely shared as farmers stone-pelting at BJP MLA in Haryana. But the clip was taken during Panchayat Election polling in Rajasthan last November when a clash between the Congress and independent candidates over the casting of fake ballots broke out.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
