A video clip of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is viral on social media. In the clip, Akhilesh is seen scaling what appears to be a boundary wall or a gate, while several TV cameras and journalists capture the act. It is claimed that Akhilesh Yadav fled to avoid questions from journalists.
X (formerly Twitter) user Sadhvi Prachi (@Sadhvi_prachi), a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, shared an 18-second clip with the caption claiming Yadav fled as the journalists asked him questions.
The video was later deleted but not before it reached a large number of viewers. The tweet amassed over 2.3 Lakh views and close to 2,000 reshares.
Sunanda Roy (@SaffronSunanda), who amplifies communal disinformation and propaganda on a regular basis, made a similar claim while sharing the video.
This user, too, deleted the post, but after it had reached more than 21,000 viewers.
The same claim has been shared and re-shared by several Right-wing X users. Among them are BhikuMhatre (@MumbaichaDon), Megh Updates ( @MeghUpdates ), Sardar Lucky Singh (@luckyschawla), Amitabh Chaudhary(@MithilaWaala), Baba Banaras (@RealBababanaras). Almost all of them deleted their tweets later. Readers can see screenshots of those tweets below:
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Fact Check
After breaking down the video into multiple key frames, we ran reverse image searches, which led us to a tweet by the official handle of the Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) on October 17, 2023. This tweet has an image of Akhilesh Yadav scaling the white boundary wall or the gate as seen in the viral video.
The tweet says that on October 11, 2023, a program was organised to garland the statue of Jai Prakash Narayan located at the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow to celebrate his birth anniversary. However, the administration locked the gate of JPNIC. Refusing to give in to the blockade, Akhilesh Yadav scaled the gate, entered the campus and garlanded the statue of JP.
A relevant keyword search led us to a news report by The Indian Express published on October 11, 2023, and a video of the incident on YouTube shared by The Hindustan Times.
The Express article stated, "Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav scaled the wall of Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in the heart of Lucknow on Wednesday after he was denied permission to enter the premises to offer floral tribute to freedom fighter and anti-Emergency campaigner Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary." (sic)
The ET video-report is titled, "Akhilesh Yadav jumps JPNIC boundary wall to pay tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan". It was uploaded on October 11, 2023.
We also geo-located the place. The white gate that Akhilesh is seen scaling in the viral clip can be seen in the photo of the JPNIC found on Google maps street view (See comparison below). The JPINIC was inaugurated by Akhilesh in 2016 when he was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. It houses a museum, a convention centre sporting facilities and also a helipad.
From the above findings, it is clear that the video clip is not a recent one, rather it dates back to October 2023. Akhilesh Yadav is seen in the clip scaling the wall of the JPNIC in Lucknow on the birth anniversary of JP to pay a floral tribute, as the gate was locked. The claims that Akhilesh Yadav fled due to the questions of the journalists are baseless and false.
Ankita Mahalanobish is an intern at Alt News.
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