Fact Check: Song Criticising Kangana Ranaut Over Farmers' Protest Remarks Is Old, Not Linked To 'Slapgate'
Fact Check: An old music video criticising Kangana Ranaut for her remarks against farmers' protest has been shared with the claim that the singers are supporting CISF constable who slapped the BJP MP.
The Verdict Misleading
While the song does involve recently elected Lok Sabha MP Kangana Ranaut, it is old and has no connection with the recent 'slapping incident'.
What is the claim?
A video which shows two people singing a song rebuking actor-politician Kangana Ranaut is being shared on social media with a claim that people in the northern Indian state of Punjab are supporting the CISF constable Kulwinder Kaur who allegedly slapped Ranaut during the security check at Chandigarh airport on June 6. Kaur reportedly said that her action was a reaction to the actor's disparaging remarks against the protesting farmers in 2020.
Ranaut recently became a Member of Parliament (MP) after she won the elections from the Mandi constituency in the North Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
One user on X (formerly Twitter) shared the video and wrote, "Kangana Ranaut slap incident: Punjab and farmers are supporting CISF's Kulwinder Kaur. Songs are being written. Kangana Ranaut will become a problem for the BJP in Haryana elections (Translated from Hindi).” The post had nearly 1,15,000 views at the time of writing. Archives of similar posts can be found here and here.
However, we found that the video is from 2020, and was sung by two sisters in the context of the farmer's protests.
What did we find?
A reverse image search led us to a longer version of the viral video (archived here) uploaded by a YouTube channel named ‘RAMNEEK-SIMRITA’ on December 6, 2020. According to news reports, the two sisters, who live in Mohali in Punjab, have also composed several songs related to farmers' protests.
The duo mentioned in the video title that the song was in reaction to comments made by actor Kangana Ranaut and Payal Rohatgi. In the YouTube video, the singers introduce themselves as Ramneek and Simrita. They then go on to say that they have written a few lines about the disparaging remarks Ranaut and Rohatgi have made against the farmers.
However, in the viral video the part where they explain the context of the video has been removed. The Punjabi lyrics of the song have also been added in the description of the YouTube video.
A similar video (archived here), posted on December 6, 2020, with the Punjab lyrics of the song provided in the caption, is also available on their Instagram page. Logically Facts has reached out to the duo for comment. This story will be updated if and when we receive a comment.
What had Ranaut and Rohatgi said?
In a now-deleted post on X, Ranaut had posted a picture of an old woman and said that the protesting farmers were being paid Rs 100 to sit at a protest site during the farmer's protest. Ranaut's remarks were criticised by many back in 2020. In the music video posted by Ramneek-Simitra, they also referred to the old woman and allegation about being paid Rs 100, which can be heard at the timestamp of 0:52-1:00.
Rohatgi, too, had also shared several videos against the farmers' protests on her YouTube (archived here) channel in 2020-2021.
The verdict
The viral video has been wrongly linked to the recent slapping incident involving Ranaut. The song was actually released by two sisters in 2020 in response to the controversial statements made by Ranaut and Rohatgi during the 2020-2021 farmers' protest.
This report first appeared on logicallyfacts.com, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.
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