On January 13, University Grants Commission’s 2026 equity regulations expand the concept of caste bias to cover SC, ST, and OBC protections, require Equal Opportunity Centres and equity committees at all universities, and make anti-discrimination laws legally binding.
Opponents claim that the regulations lack general category safeguards, are ambiguous, could be abused, and create friction on campuses, which could lead to protests across the country and legal challenges. They are essential, according to supporters, to combat ingrained prejudice.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which some people are seen protesting with a banner showing images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah stained with black ink.
The video is shared with a caption suggesting that it shows people protesting the BJP government for the new UGC regulations.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “Never thought that the party and leaders we supported—taking insults from friends, getting trolled on social media—would one day bring us joy through their own humiliation. Modi ji, if you can’t give anything, at least resign, please.”) (Translated from Hind)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is old and shows people protesting against the National Herald case.
On a Google Reverse Image Search, we found that the same video was shared by a YouTube channel on January 3. Since the new regulations came into effect on January 13, we can ascertain that the viral video is old.
We found that the same video was shared by Dainik Bhaskar a month ago. In the video, at around 11 seconds, we can see the same viral clip. The report associated with the video suggests that Congress workers marched in Raipur, aiming to reach and protest outside the BJP office, accusing the ruling party of political misuse of agencies and demanding action on key issues. The march was blocked by police, clashes and scuffles broke out, and several protesters were detained during the confrontation.
This confirmed that the video is not related to the new UGC regulations.
What is National Herald case?
The National Herald case centres on allegations that Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, through their firm Young Indian Ltd., acquired control of Associated Journals Ltd.—publisher of the old National Herald newspaper—with huge real estate assets for a token amount after an interest-free loan from the Congress party. The Enforcement Directorate alleges this amounted to money laundering and criminal conspiracy, while the Gandhis call it a legitimate effort to save the paper. A court recently refused to take cognisance of the ED’s latest charges.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
