The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) began its round-the-clock sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar on June 20, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged exam paper leaks, justice for affected students and education reforms.
The protest gained nationwide support before escalating into the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march on July 20, when clashes with police led to detentions and fresh talks with the Centre.
In the above context, a video of former NASA astronaut Sunita Williams is widely of being shared on social media. In the video, she is seen wearing a navy blue polo t-shirt with a badge of NASA. She is walking past a crowd where police personnel are seen escorting her. While she is walking, many cameramen are also seen clicking her photos and videos.
The text embedded on the video reads, “Sunita Williams, the real celebrity! All educated people are in support of education.”
The video is widely being shared on social media with a caption suggesting that it shows Sunita Williams is coming to attend the protest being held by the Cockroach Janta Party at Jantar Mantar to seek the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.
The video is shared with a caption that reads, “Now Godi Media will find something that Sunita Williams is Anti-National. #Jantarmantar #Sonamwangchuk”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video shows Sunita Williams attending the Kerala Literature Festival this year.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by an Instagram Page on January 23, with a caption that reads, “Sunita Williams is a brave and inspiring astronaut who showed the world that nothing is impossible. #Calicut #klf #malayalamreels #indiantrending #relatable”
Since the video precedes the CJP protest, we can ascertain that the viral video is old.
Moreover, upon closer examination of the video, we noticed that Sunita Williams was wearing an ID card with ‘KLF’ written on it, a clear clue pointing to the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF).
Moreover, we also found that the logo and badge on the uniform of the police were those of the Kerala police. All of which suggests that the viral video was of Kerala and not Delhi. Also, a board in the background read ‘KLF’, representing that the video was of the Kerala Literature Festival.
Using the information we gathered so far, we searched with relevant keywords and found reports of Sunita William participating in the Kerala Literature Festival.
According to a report by The Hindu, astronaut Sunita Williams inaugurated the ninth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival at Kozhikode Beach on January 22, nearly six months before the CJP protest began.
During the four-day literary festival, Williams addressed several sessions and spoke about her experiences in space. In the viral video, she can be seen wearing the same outfit as in other footage from the festival.
Moreover, we found no reports of Sunita Williams supporting the CJP protest. Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
