Video of driver fined for Hindu sticker filmed in Indian state run by ruling party, not opposition
- Published on September 19, 2023 at 09:19
- 5 min read
- By Anuradha PRASAD, AFP India
Copyright © AFP 2017-2024. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
The 20-second-long video has been viewed more than 2,400 times since it was posted here on Facebook on September 4, 2023.
"Being a Hindu in Rajasthan is an insult for the Congress party. They are issuing challan (fines) for displaying a Khatu Shyam sticker," reads part of the video's Hindi-language caption, referring to the country's main opposition party and a Hindu deity.
"Muslim appeasing parties will make you secular and take away everything from you."
The Congress party, which is the largest group in Rajasthan's state legislature, has often been accused of "Muslim appeasement" by right-wing leaning groups and members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP (archived link).
The video shows a conversation between a driver and a traffic cop, filmed from the driver's perspective.
The officer asks if a sticker of the holy Hindu symbol Om has been pasted on the vehicle, to which the driver replies that it is a Khatu Shyam sticker and he will not remove it.
"If you want to impose a fine on me, go ahead," he tells the police officer, who steps back and appears to take a photo of the sticker.
The video's caption continues: "No party is worried about the votes of the 80 percent who are divided Hindus. Every party is ready to go to any extent to get the votes of the 20 percent who are united Muslims."
The video circulated ahead of state elections in Rajasthan expected before the end of the year, with the BJP looking to wrest back control from the Congress party (archived link).
It was also shared in similar posts here and here on Facebook; and here and here on X, formerly Twitter.
The video, however, was filmed in Uttar Pradesh, which is run by the ruling BJP, not in Congress-controlled Rajasthan.
Traffic stop in Uttar Pradesh
A keyword search on Facebook led to a slightly longer video posted here on the page of Kattar Hindu Sachhidanand Shukla on August 27 (archived link).
The video's Hindi-language caption reads: "What sort of order has been passed in Lakhimpur that vehicles having stickers of Om, Khatu Shyam on display will be fined. They snapped a photo of my vehicle but I did not remove the sticker.
"You keep on imposing a fine, I will keep on paying it in God's name."
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video used in the false post (left) and the video posted on Facebook on August 27 (right):
Shukla told AFP that he recorded the video.
"No, this is not from Rajasthan," he said on September 7. "The incident happened on August 27 in Lakhimpur."
Lakhimpur is in Uttar Pradesh state (archived link).
"They were asking me to remove the Khatu Shyam sticker. I did not remove it. I will never remove it, they can impose fines as many times as they want," he added.
At the video's 29-second mark, a banner for "Chaudhary Machinery Store" can be seen in the background.
A keyword search led to Google Street View imagery of the store in Lakhimpur and a matching yellow building that can also be seen in the video's background (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the yellow building as seen in the video (left) and the same location as seen on Google Street View (right):
Rajasthan police have also addressed the claim the video was filmed in their state on X, saying that is "absolutely false" (archived link).
Sticker crackdowns
India's Central Motor Vehicles Rules prohibit stickers and adhesive labels on a vehicle's licence plate (archived link).
Authorities can also use the Motor Vehicles Act to fine drivers for pasting religious-themed stickers on their vehicles (archived link).
According to a Times of India report from September 2019, Rajasthan police penalised people for pasting stickers that displayed their caste, religion, profession or political affiliation on their vehicles (archived link).
A similar enforcement drive was also held in Uttar Pradesh in August 2023.
"UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had recently directed officials to stop the practice of people displaying their caste on vehicles," reads a report from The Indian Express (archived link).
"Police said this is an offence under Section 179(1) of Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, which deals with ‘disobedience of any direction lawfully given by any person or authority empowered under the Act."
Sarvanand Singh Yadav, additional superintendent of the Uttar Pradesh police's traffic department, told AFP that this would continue.
"We are penalising everyone who refuses the order under Section 179 of Motor Vehicles (MV) Act," Yadav said on September 12.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
