Clip shows Indian opposition party president waiting to give speech, not to be 'asked to sit'

The 18-second clip was shared on Facebook here on May 8, 2023.

It shows the president of the opposition Indian National Congress, Mallikarjun Kharge, and other party officials standing and applauding on stage at an election rally as former party president Sonia Gandhi makes her way to her seat.

The clip shows that Kharge remains standing even as Gandhi and the other officials sit down.

Kharge was elected Congress president in October 2022, becoming the first person outside the Gandhi family to become the party's president in more than two decades.

A former railways and labour minister who is from the low-caste Dalit community, Kharge was widely believed to have had the backing of the Gandhi family.

Part of the clip's Hindi-language caption reads: "See the honour and respect for him in the party. Stand until you are asked to sit."

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Screenshot of the misleading post captured on May 15, 2023

Congress defeated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the southern Indian state of Karnataka -- Kharge's home state -- during the vote on May 10 according to partial results.

Prior to the election, news outlet NDTV reported that Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the Hindu nationalist BJP during a rally on May 6, as her party sought to wrestle back control of the state they lost in 2018.

The same clip was viewed over 5,000 times elsewhere on Facebook alongside similar claims here and here; as well as on Twitter.

Comments on the posts suggest some users were misled.

One user wrote, "Only the Gandhi family is respected in this party; no one else can even sit without asking them."

"This is the status of a Dalit leader to the Gandhi family, he cannot even breathe without asking them," wrote another.

But an analysis of the video from where the clip was taken shows Kharge was awaiting his turn to speak at the rally, not to be asked to take a seat.

Karnataka rally

A keyword search on YouTube led to a longer version of the misleading clip that was uploaded on the Congress' verified channel here on May 6 (archived link).

The video's description reads: "Joint mega rally by Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi ji, and Rahul Gandhi in Hubballi, Karnataka."

The 18-second clip circulating on social media corresponds to the section of the video that begins at the 22:31 mark.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the misleadingly edited clip (left) and the longer video uploaded to the Congress' YouTube channel (right):

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Screenshot comparison

The clip shared on social media cuts off at the YouTube video's 22:49 mark. At this point, Kharge is introduced and walks to a podium to deliver a speech.

As he makes his way to the podium, the other party officials -- including Gandhi -- stand up and applaud him.

Below is a screenshot from the YouTube video showing Gandhi and other officials standing as Kharge makes his way to give his speech:

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Screenshot from the YouTube video showing Gandhi and other officials standing as Kharge makes his way to give his speech

Responding to the posts, Supriya Shrinate, national spokesperson of the Congress party, told AFP: "This video has been cropped and shared with false claims. You can find the full video of this event on INC's YouTube page and see the truth."

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