Fact Check: Viral Posts Falsely Claim Rahul Gandhi ‘Admitted To Assaulting BJP MP’ At Parliament
Social media users are sharing a video of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, alleging that it shows him admitting to physically pushing a fellow MP from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
- The Verdict: Misleading A video of Gandhi responding to a question about Mallikarjun Kharge being pushed during a scuffle has been wrongly shown as his admission of assault.
What is the claim?
Social media users are sharing a video of Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Rahul Gandhi, alleging that it shows him admitting to physically pushing a fellow MP from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the video, multiple reporters can be heard questioning Gandhi. He responds, “No, no, I don’t know if it was captured on your camera, this is the Parliament entrance. I was trying to enter it when BJP MPs were blocking, pushing me, and threatening me.”
As the reporters continue questioning, Gandhi says, “Yes, kiya hai, kiya hai (it was done, it was done), but it is okay. Nothing happens to us during dhakka-mukki (scuffles). But this is the entrance of the Parliament House, and we have a right to enter it. The BJP MPs were stopping us from going inside…”
The video was shared by Amit Malviya, head of the BJP IT department, with the caption: “Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi admits on camera to having assaulted BJP MP Pratap Sarangi, leaving him grievously injured. This calls for criminal charges against him. There is overwhelming evidence, video footage, and his own admission to convict Rahul Gandhi. The law must take its course.”
Malviya’s post had 35,000 views and 1,500 reposts at the time of this fact-check. Several BJP MPs also circulated the video, alleging that Gandhi admitted to pushing BJP MPs. Archived versions of similar posts can be found here, here, here, and here.
The video surfaced amid reports of a scuffle outside Parliament on December 19, 2024. BJP MPs accused Gandhi of pushing leaders Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput, allegedly causing injuries. Visuals showed Sarangi surrounded by MPs, clutching his head, and later claiming he was pushed. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also alleged he sustained a knee injury during the incident.
The altercation reportedly happened during protests and counter-protests between the BJP and Congress, sparked by a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah. Shah remarked that invoking Dr B.R. Ambedkar had become a “fashion”, a comment the Congress condemned as insulting.
However, contrary to claims by BJP leaders, the video does not show Gandhi admitting to pushing a BJP MP. Instead, he was responding to a reporter’s question about whether Kharge was also pushed during the scuffle.
What we found
Logically Facts reviewed a clearer version of the video, shared by the Press Trust of India (PTI) on its official X account (archived here). In this version, the reporters’ questions are more discernible. At the 0:18 mark, reporters are heard asking, “What happened to you? What happened with Priyankaji?” One reporter specifically asks, “Khargeji, Khargeji ke saath dhakka-mukki (scuffle with Kharge)?”
Gandhi’s response at 0:22 is: “See, see, yes, kiya hai, kiya hai (it was done, it was done)... but the pushing doesn’t affect us. This is the entrance of Parliament House, and it is our right to go inside. The BJP members are stopping us from entering.”
VIDEO | "I was just trying to go inside the Parliament and BJP MPs were trying to stop me. This is what has happened... This is the entrance of Parliament House and we have a right to go inside," says Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) as BJP leaders accuse him of shoving… pic.twitter.com/hHsZlaNAyM
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 19, 2024
The same conversation is audible in videos uploaded by ANI News (archived here) and NDTV (archived here). These videos confirm that Gandhi was addressing questions about Kharge being pushed, not admitting to assaulting BJP MPs.
The verdict
The video of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi responding to reporters about party members Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi being pushed has been misrepresented. The claim that Gandhi admitted to assaulting BJP MPs is false.
This story was originally published by Logically Facts as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by ABP Live staff.
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