Just days ahead of assembly elections in Punjab, a video of Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has gone viral on social media where he can be seen speaking in local language and appealing to people to vote for Shiromani Akali Dal.
A Facebook user shared the video with a caption in Punjabi that roughly translates to, “Kejriwal is also building bridges in praise of Shiromani Akali Dal.”
Several other Facebook users are sharing the video with the same claim.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral video and found it to be shared with a false claim.
With the help of a relevant keyword search, we found a longer version of the viral video. The two-minute video was uploaded on the official Twitter handle of the Punjab Aam Aadmi Party on February 8, 2022. The viral video has been edited out from the original video to mislead people.
In the video, Kejriwal can be seen speaking in Punjabi and actually asking the voters not to vote for Shrimoni Akali Dal. He goes on to say in Punjabi, “Are you a supporter of Akali Dal? Do you vote for Akali Dal? Don’t panic, I won’t ask you to leave the party. Nor will I ask to join the Aam Aadmi Party. I have a request from you that this time vote only for the jhadu. You would ask why. Akali Dal has ruled Punjab for 19 years. 19 years is not less. They did what they could do in all these years. And by giving them 5 years, they will not do anything new.”
After watching the full video it becomes clear that Kejriwal was talking about voting for the AAP and not the Shiromani Akali Dal, contrary to the viral claim.
Punjab will go to the polls on February 20 and the counting of votes will take place on March 10.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the viral video is manipulated.
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