A 13-second video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is widely shared on social media. To a question about Kolkata rape and murder, Rahul can be heard saying: “I know I am here for this matter. I know which matter you do not want to focus on and distract me.”
Users claim that Rahul Gandhi is saying that he came for a much more important matter and should not be distracted by asking about the Kolkata rape victim. The caption hints that he is demeaning the death of the doctor who was raped in Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Hospital.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “Journalist: SC is hearing Kolkata rape case. Rahul Gandhi: Don't distract me, I'm here for more important work. This guy was first to reach Hathras claiming he's fighting for women and here he's calling the #KolkataHorror case an unimportant topic.”
SouthCheck found the viral claim to be misleading. The video in question was edited. In the original video, Rahul Gandhi says he has come to meet the family of a Dalit youth who was killed and will speak about the Kolkata rape case later.
We observed that the logo of ANI was mentioned in the top right corner of the video. Taking a hint, we searched with the appropriate keywords and found the longer version of the video was uploaded on the X account of ANI on August 20, 2024. The video is shared with a caption quoting Rahul Gandhi. The quote suggested that Rahul Gandhi had come to meet the family of the Dalit boy who was killed in Uttar Pradesh. It also hinted that Rahul was there to demand justice for the victim as no case was being registered against the culprits in Uttar Pradesh.
In the same video at around 2:40, a journalist asks Rahul’s response on the Kolkata rape and murder case. Responding to it, Rahul says, “I am here in this incident. I have already given my opinion on Kolkata's incident but here I don't want to distract.”
Later, when the journalist again asks questions regarding the Kolkata rape case, Rahul says, “I know I am here for this matter. "I've already shared my views on the Kolkata incident, but I don't want to divert attention from the current situation."
We also found another video uploaded by PTI. In this video too one can hear Rahul Gandhi saying that he had come to raise the voice of Dalits and did not want to dilute the issue by discussing any other matter. However, later he says that he will speak on the Kolkata rape case soon. The video was shared with a caption that reads, “I have come here (Raebareli) to support the family of the victim (Dalit youth). I will not let you distract from this matter. I will speak on Kolkata doctor rape and murder case later," says Congress MP Rahul Gandhi as he reaches Uttar Pradesh's Pichhwariya to meet the family of a Dalit youth who was allegedly killed.”
We also found that Rahul Gandhi had earlier took to Twitter to condemn the horrendous incident of rape and murder that happened in Kolkata. He had also accused the local authorities of protecting the rapist.
Hence, we can ascertain that an edited video of Rahul Gandhi had gone viral with a misleading claim.