Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on June 2, days after leaving the Congress. Against this backdrop, a video is being widely shared on social media, claiming that he was welcomed by BJP with a ‘slap’.
The video is shared on Facebook with a Hindi caption: “भाजपा में शामिल होते ही हार्दिक पटेल का जोरदार स्वागत एवं अभिनंदन” (English translation: Hardik Patel’s warm welcome and congratulations as soon as he joined BJP)
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be MISLEADING.
Doing a simple keyword search directed us to several news articles that reported the same incident in 2019. An article published by The Economic Times, on April 19, 2019, carried similar visuals stating that “Congress leader Hardik Patel was slapped by an unidentified man while addressing a poll rally on Friday at a village in Surendranagar district, Gujarat.”
We found a video news report published by Hindustan Times that carried the same viral video on April 19, 2019. The descriptor reads: “Congress leader Hardik Patel was slapped during a rally in Surendranagar district, Gujarat . While Hardik was addressing the audience, a man charged into the stage and slapped him.”
A report by India Today further stated that Tarun Gajjar was eventually recognised as the individual who slapped Patel. Gajjar hit the Patidar leader because he had a personal grievance against him, according to the report.
Thus, it is evident from the above information that an old video is being falsely linked to Hardik Patel joining BJP. Therefore, the viral claim is misleading.
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