Old video of Indian minister praising Modi falsely linked to daughter's questioning in liquor scam

This article is more than one year old.
Published on January 10, 2023 at 10:45
2 min read
By Uzair RIZVI, AFP India

After Indian police questioned the daughter of Indian state chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao over a liquor scam, a video was viewed tens of thousands of times in posts that falsely claimed it showed him calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi his "best friend". The posts mocked Rao and suggested he was courting Modi's help to distance his daughter from the scandal. The video was in fact filmed in March 2018, years before the liquor scam.

"After his daughter was named in the Delhi liquor excise scam, KCR [K. Chandrashekar Rao] is suddenly singing like a canary!!" reads a tweet shared on December 28.

The tweet shows a video, which has more than 74,000 views, of Rao saying: "I have nothing against Mr Modi. I have all respect for him as honourable prime minister of India.

Another important thing I am telling you, it should be noted, that is very important, I am his best friend also."

K. Chandrashekar Rao is chief minister of the southern Indian state of Telangana.

The claim circulated in similar posts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube after Rao's daughter K Kavitha was questioned by India's Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with a case against the Delhi government, which has been accused of granting liquor licences to dealers who allegedly paid bribes.

She has denied any involvement in the scam.

Screenshot of the misleading tweet, taken on January 5, 2023.

Some social media posts appeared to believe the video showed Rao attempting to seek political favours to distance his daughter from the liquor scam investigation.

"He surely needs friends at this time," read one comment.

"Rao is a shameless person," another said.

However, the footage shows Rao speaking in 2018, years before police questioned his daughter over the liquor scam.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video found the same video posted on the YouTube channel of Indian broadcaster NTV on March 3, 2018.

The video is titled: "CM KCR Press Meet Over Reservation For Govt Jobs & Education || Water Problem".

It shows Rao responding to a journalist's questions about his relationship with Modi and the central government.

At the 30:42 mark, Rao says: "Another important thing I am telling, it should be noted, that is very important, I am his best friend also."

Below is a screenshot comparison between the video in the misleading posts (left) and the video posted on NTV's YouTube channel (right):

Screenshot comparison between the video in the misleading posts (left) and the video posted on NTV's YouTube channel (right).

Various local media outlets reported on Rao's comments about Modi in 2018, including The Times of India and The Indian Express.

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