In a video shot during the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra in Haryana, Rahul Gandhi is seen walking with several Congress leaders when former Union minister Jitendra Singh Alwar bends down, seemingly to tie shoelaces. Rahul Gandhi is seen patting Jitendra Singh’s back at the end of the video.
A 20-second clip showing this moment was tweeted by BJP leader and in-charge of the party’s information technology department Amit Malviya wherein he alleged that Jitendra Singh was seen tying Rahul Gandhi’s shoes. He further called Gandhi ‘an arrogant entitled brat’ for not helping Jitendra Singh and ‘patting his back’ instead. (Archive)
Former union minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh goes down on his knee to tie Rahul Gandhi’s shoe lace. The arrogant entitled brat instead of helping himself is seen patting his back…
इसी परिपाटी की बात कर रहे थे खड़गे जी? कांग्रेस में पिद्दियों की कमी नहीं है। pic.twitter.com/FtHCCwNTwu
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 21, 2022
National secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga also tweeted the video and said ‘Former union minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh goes down on his knee to tie Rahul Gandhi’s shoe lace’. (Archive)
Former union minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh goes down on his knee to tie Rahul Gandhi’s shoe lace. pic.twitter.com/ZKhcerK2R9
— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) December 21, 2022
The official handle of BJP Rajasthan tweeted a video wherein the viral clip is juxtaposed alongside a compilation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi bowing down and greeting the elderly. The video is an attempt at drawing a comparison between the seemingly contrasting attitudes of Rahul Gandi and Narendra Modi. (Archive)
संस्कार अपने-अपने!
राहुल जी पूर्व केंद्रीय राज्य मंत्री भंवर जितेंद्र सिंह जी से अपना जूते का फीता बंधवाते हुए… pic.twitter.com/tGTw075jRt— BJP Rajasthan (@BJP4Rajasthan) December 21, 2022
Rajasthan MLA Gopichand Meena also tweeted the same video and wrote “संस्कार अपने-अपने!”. (Archive)
संस्कार अपने-अपने!
राहुल जी पूर्व केंद्रीय राज्य मंत्री भंवर जितेंद्र सिंह जी से अपना जूते का फीता बंधवाते हुए…#RahulGandhi #Congress pic.twitter.com/3Ws3KNmr9f— Gopichand Meena (@MlaGopichand) December 21, 2022
State president of BJP Chandigarh Arun Sood also tweeted the viral clip and stated that the incident exhibited the ‘mentality of slavery that has ruined the country’. (Archive)
कांग्रेस के पूर्व केंद्रीय मंत्री भंवर जितेंद्र सिंह झुक कर राहुल गांधी के जूते के तस्मे बांधते हुए, और उस पर राहुल गांधी उनकी पीठ थपथपाते हुए… यही है वो गुलामी की मानसिकता जिसने देश को बर्बाद किया है।
क्या गांधी परिवार के बिना @INCIndia का कोई अस्तित्व नहीं है? @BJP4India pic.twitter.com/ji7oL7BofA
— Arun Sood (@arunsoodbjp) December 21, 2022
The Free Press Journal published a report titled ‘Rahul Gandhi gets shoe laces tied by ex-Union Minister at Bharat Jodo Yatra, BJP says ‘entitled brat’. Watch video’. The sub-heading of the article reads ‘Rahul Gandhi was walking along with other party members when Bhanwar Jitendra Singh bent down and tied his shoe laces during the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra in Haryana’. (Archive)
Fact Check
Shortly after the clip went viral, Jitendra Singh Alwar himself took to Twitter to refute the claim made by Amit Malviya and others. He tweeted an image wherein he can be seen bending down and tying his own shoe laces. The image is a screenshot from a video which captures the viral chain of events from a different angle. Jitendra Singh writes, “Great to see @BJP4India and it’s full machinery keenly observing #BharatJodoYatra and getting panicked by it’s tremendous success ! Resorting to the only thing they know how to do … lie !” (Archive)
Great to see @BJP4India and it’s full machinery keenly observing #BharatJodoYatra and getting panicked by it’s tremendous success !
Resorting to the only thing they know how to do … lie ! @amitmalviya @AmanKayamHai_ @TajinderBagga pic.twitter.com/mQglHM0B0M
— Jitendra Singh Alwar (@JitendraSAlwar) December 21, 2022
The chairperson of social media and digital platforms for the Indian National Congress, Supriya Shrinate, also uploaded the clip of the viral chain of events filmed from another angle. In the clip, Jitendra Singh can be clearly seen bending over and tying his own shoe laces while Rahul Gandhi pauses briefly. (Archive)
झूठ्ठा फिर पकड़ लिया गया
लेकिन असल में तो इस प्यादे से झूठ बुलाने का काम भाजपा अध्यक्ष नड्डा और PM मोदी करा रहे हैं
तो अब माफ़ी भी तीनों को माँगनी चाहिए। अपना ट्वीट डिलीट करो अमित मालवीय – फ़ेक न्यूज़ के सरग़ना
भारत जोड़ो यात्रा की सफलता से बौखलाहट में पगला गए हो क्या? pic.twitter.com/aVNzy6Me7N
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) December 21, 2022
Jitendra Singh Alwar quote-tweeted Amit Malviya and said that Malviya’s tweet was ‘a complete lie and defamatory’. According to the former minister’s tweet, Rahul Gandhi paused the march briefly upon his request so that he could tie his own shoelaces. He further demanded that Malviya deletes his tweet and apologizes to Rahul Gandhi or face legal action. (Archive)
As incharge of ruling BJP’s National Info Dept your tweet is a complete lie and defamatory.
The fact is that after being pointed out by Rahul ji upon my request he paused briefly so that I could tie my own shoe laces.
Delete the tweet and apologise to RG or face legal action https://t.co/HDXVii09bg
— Jitendra Singh Alwar (@JitendraSAlwar) December 21, 2022
The official handle of the Congress party also uploaded a video statement by Jitendra Singh Alwar wherein he clarified the chain of events. According to his statement, Jitendra Singh was unaware that his shoelaces had come untied while walking in the march. Rahul Gandhi then advised Jitendra Singh to tie his laces. Consequently, upon Jitendra Singh’s request, he paused for a while and Singh tied his own shoelaces. Jitendra Singh further states that Rahul Gandhi’s shoes do not have laces implying that there’s no possibility of him tying Gandi’s laces (Archive). Supriya Shrinate also tweeted an image of Rahul Gandhi’s shoes confirming this.(Archive).
BJP IT सेल ने FAKE खबर चलाई
——
यात्रा में चलते हुए मेरे जूते के फीते खुल गए, तभी राहुल गांधी जी की नजर पड़ी और उन्होंने मुझे फीते बांध लेने को कहा।इस छोटी सी बात को गलत तरीके से पेश कर देश को गुमराह करने के लिए @RahulGandhi जी से माफी मांगे @amitmalviya
–@JitendraSAlwar जी pic.twitter.com/jcjyiff4WA
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 21, 2022
While Aaj Tak did not make a direct claim vis-à-vis the viral clip, they chose to use a clickbait caption. In their tweet, Aaj Tak wrote, ‘Rahul Gandhi left for Bharat Jodo Yatra in Haryana on Wednesday. During this time, a video went viral wherein Congress leader Jitendra Singh appears to be tying Rahul Gandhi’s shoelaces’. As the reader might notice, the information provided in the tweet lacks clarity and can mislead readers who don’t read the article and go only by the caption.
राहुल गांधी बुधवार को हरियाणा में अपनी भारत जोड़ो यात्रा लेकर निकले. इस दौरान उनका एक वीडियो वायरल हो गया, जिसे देखने से ऐसा लग रहा है कि कांग्रेस नेता जितेंद्र सिंह राहुल गांधी के जूते के फीते बांध रहे हैं.
(@Supriya23bh)https://t.co/2mrl3bMT7b
— AajTak (@aajtak) December 21, 2022
Hence, it is clear that a video of Jitendra Singh Alwar tying his shoelaces is being falsely circulated as Jitendra Singh tying Rahul Gandhi’s shoelaces. With reference to this fabricated claim, Gandhi has been called ‘an arrogant entitled brat’ by BJP leader Amit Malviya.
In the recent past, many cases of misinformation targeting Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra have been put out by members of the BJP. For instance, a video of Rahul Gandhi and some other Congress leaders coming out of a restaurant was circulated on social media with the claim that the politicians were inebriated during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. An Alt News fact-check found the claim to be categorically false. In another similar case of misinformation, an image of Rahul Gandhi with a girl was viral on social media with the claim that the girl seen with Rahul Gandhi is Amulya Leona, who was known to have raised ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans during the anti-CAA protest in Bangalore in 2020. An Alt News fact-check found the claims to be false.
Over the years Alt News has also documented how BJP information and technology chief Amit Malviya has consistently put out misinformation. Readers can find related reports here.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people contribute towards the same. Please consider donating in support of this endeavour to fight misinformation and disinformation.
To make an instant donation, click on the “Donate Now” button above. For information regarding donation via Bank Transfer/Cheque/DD, click here.
Related
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Fact Check News Click Here
