A 1-minute clip went viral on social media after Congress's Sofia Firdous had created history by becoming Odisha's first female Muslim MLA. Thirty-two-year-old Sofia won the Barabati-Cuttack assembly seat by a margin of 8001 votes.
In the video, some children can be seen holding a banner and shouting slogans alongside other men. It is being claimed that the video shows the people in the rally raising 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans and even making children say it.
An X user named Suryakant Dash (Modi ka Parivar) (@SuryakantDash13), who as per his bio is a BJP functionary, shared the clip on June 9 with a caption in Odia that can be translated as: "Just listen, these small children are saying: We made victorious Barabati Cuttack MLA Ms Sofia Firdous Zindabad, Pakistan Zindabad *(If we say anything, the so-called 'brotherhood' of Cuttack will be in danger)* Ward No. 13 Mehndipur Kaligali #Cuttack" (Archive)
X page Kalinga Rights Forum (@KalingaForum) also posted the same video on June 9 with the caption: "Filed Complaint with @NCPCR_ @KanoongoPriyank against Organisers of @INCIndia Cuttack MLA @sofiafirdous1's Rally in Ward no. 13 Mehendipur Kaligali, Cuttack, Odisha in which Minor Kids are radicalised & Forced to raise 'Pakistan Zindabad' Slogan".
Commenting under the original tweet, the page further mentioned that the "Hindus of Cuttack" had filed an FIR against the alleged act.
Several other users also shared the same video on X claiming that 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans were raised at the rally.
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Alt News also received requests on WhatsApp tipline to verify the claim.
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Fact Check
We noticed that several users had commented under @KalingaForum's tweet saying that no 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans were raised at the rally. Instead, the slogans raised were — 'Moquim Bhai Zindabad' and 'Sofia Didi Zindabad'.
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Congress leader and ex-MLA Mohammed Moquim is the father of Sofia Firdous.
For clarity, we slowed down the audio of the viral clip. In the slowed-down version, one can clearly hear the chants of 'Sofia Didi Zindabad.' The second chant is not entirely clear, but '-quim Bhai Zindabad' can be heard which suggests that the crowd was chanting 'Moquim Bhai Zindabad'. In the video, one can also see the banner carried by the children having images of Sofia Firdous and her father, Mohammed Moquim.
We also reached out to Sofia Firdous who rubbished the claims and said, "This is a Hindu-dominated area, with 90% of the population being Hindu. My father's name is Moquim, and they have misinterpreted 'Moquim bhai' to sound like 'Pakistan'. There are a few more videos that have been edited to deliberately add the phrase 'Pakistan Zindabad'".
The Congress MLA also posted a video on her official X page addressing the claims and she mentioned in the caption: "On June 6th, during the victory celebration rally in Cuttack, a large number of people from various neighbourhoods joined it voluntarily and blessed me.
From Ward No. 13, too, a rally was organized by the public. Unfortunately, the original video of this rally, where slogans like "Moquim Bhai Zindabad, Sofia Didi Zindabad" were chanted, has been misrepresented and edited by some antisocial elements to create a controversy. This edited video has been made viral to defame me and the city of Cuttack.
Cuttack is a city of brotherhood and we will never tolerate any malicious attempt to destroy this harmony. I strongly condemn this act and urge the administration to investigate the matter immediately and bring the culprits to justice with stringent action against them."
Sofia also shared with us a video statement from the organisers of the rally who, too, clarified that 'Moquim Bhai Zindabad' and 'Sofia Didi Zindabad' slogans were raised.
[Translation: "I am a resident of Ward No. 13. My name is B David. Now a video is going viral which has hurt us a lot. We organised the programme to celebrate Sofia's win, there were children giving slogans Moqim Bhai Zindabad, Sofia didi Zindabad and Congress Zindabad. Some hateful people in society are giving it in a false angle. There is no truth in them. Do not believe in it. Thank you.
My name is Ramzan Ali. On the 4th we celebrated with a victory show. Some of our friends gathered with drums for the programme. Children joined us on hearing the drums. They gave the slogans of Moqim Bhai Zindabad and Sofia didi Zindabad. Some intolerant people are taking it in the wrong direction. No such thing has happened. Hindus, Muslims and all people of Cuttack city came together. No such slogans were raised which would hurt the sentiments of the people of Cuttack. If you listen carefully to the video, step by step 1,2,3, you will hear little Moqim Bhai Zindabad, Sofia didi Zindabad, haat chinha (the hand symbol) Zindabad. No other slogan has been raised that would hurt Cuttack residents. Some people are taking it in the wrong direction. It's hateful politics. We strongly condemn this.
Namaskar. I am Sanjib Das from the Ward (illegible). We were celebrating Sofia Firdous' win. Some videos have been viral about this. But no such incident has happened.
I am Sheela Saha. I was present there. Children joined the celebration. Their slogans were Moqim Bhai Zindabad Sofia didi Zindabad and the Haat Chinha (the hand symbol) Zindabad. No other slogans were raised. Some antisocial elements are spreading the wrong message. We strongly condemn it."]
Alt News reached out to Cuttack deputy commissioner Prakash Raj, who told us that the police were checking the authenticity of the video and it had been sent to a forensic lab.
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