Screenshot of the false post, taken July 15, 2024

Decade-old video of Indian politician campaigning for Bihar special status falsely shared as recent

Published on July 17, 2024 at 11:45
3 min read
By Asma HAFIZ, AFP India

As Indian politician Nitish Kumar renewed calls to grant special status to one of the country's poorest states, an old video circulated in Facebook posts that misleadingly claimed it shows him leading a fresh rally to promote the cause. The posts circulated after Kumar's party allied with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following this year's elections. However, the footage has circulated in news reports about a march Kumar held in 2014.

"Nitish Kumar has called for a march to give special state status to Bihar," read a Hindi-language Facebook post that shared the video on July 8.

Kumar is chief minister of Bihar and leader of the Janata Dal (United) party, which is part of the coalition government formed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his surprise setback in this year's election.

Kumar, who has a history of changing his allegiance to and from the BJP to suit his interests, was part of an opposition alliance challenging Modi -- but switched sides just weeks before the vote began.

He has ramped up calls for the government to grant special status to Bihar -- which would make the state eligible for tax concessions and financial aid -- after his party became the BJP's second-biggest ally with 12 seats in parliament (archived link).

India's central government can award special status to poorer or less populated states, or those with difficult terrain or located along a border (archived link).

The video shows Kumar taking part in a march while telling a journalist that the demonstration is a "fight for the rights of Bihar".

Screenshot of the misleading post, taken July 15, 2024

AFP found no news reports about Kumar taking part in a march calling for special status for Bihar since the election -- although he has held rallies for the cause in the past (archived link).

However, some Facebook users appeared to believe the footage showed Kumar leading a recent march.

"Nitish Kumar ji, if not now then never," one commented.

"Sir, great job. Try to demand, we are with you," another wrote.

Old footage

A reverse image search of the video on Google found a longer version of the footage posted on YouTube on March 2, 2014 (archived link).

"Nitish Kumar marches to Gandhi Maidan demanding 'special status' to Bihar, " read the caption of the video, which was posted by Indian news channel ABP News.

Gandhi Maidan is a sprawling ground in Bihar's capital city Patna, where Kumar has held several rallies (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and ABP News's YouTube video (right):

Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and ABP News's YouTube video (right)

The rally on March 2, 2014 was widely reported by local media, including IndiaTV and NDTV news (archived links here and here).

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