Fact Check: Video showing leaders fighting in a municipal meeting makes false claims about a scuffle between TDP leaders and Jana Sena men
General elections in India are expected to be conducted in 2024, while a few states, including both the Telugu states, are already in the grip of the Assembly elections fever.
Clash_Leaders
General elections in India are expected to be conducted in 2024, while a few states, including both the Telugu states, are already in the grip of the Assembly elections fever. In Telangana, the Assembly elections are scheduled for November this year, while in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, both the general and Assembly elections would take place in May 2024.
While the leader of Telugu Desam Party, N. Chandrababu Naidu is still in the Rajahmundry central jail, Jana Sena party chief Pawan Kalyan has announced a poll alliance with the TDP party for the upcoming Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections in 2024. The declaration of the alliance ignited speculations about the Jana Sena party’s departure from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Amidst all these changes in the political landscape, a video of a fight between two leaders is in circulation on social media platforms with two different claims. The video shows a leader wearing a yellow shirt and another clad in a white shirt indulging in a fight.
The video was shared by a Facebook user with a claim that it shows a scuffle between Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena party leaders.
The caption on the video is “Huge fight between TDP and JSP leaders in Kakinada”
Here is the Facebook reel link.
Another X (Twitter) user also shared the video with the claim that it shows TDP leaders fighting with a councillor belonging to the JSP. The claim in Telugu goes as “జనసేన పార్టీ కౌన్సిలర్ ని బట్టలు చింపి కొట్టిన టీడీపీ కౌన్సెలర్... పాపం జెండా కూలీలు” #PoliticalBrokerPK #
When translated, it claims “TDP leaders assault and tear the clothes of a councillor belonging to Jana Sena party…sorry for the flag bearers”
Meanwhile, some other users shared the same video with a totally different claim that it shows TDP leaders beating up a YSRCP councillor who took bribe, with a claim that goes “అవినీతికి పాల్పడినందుకు వైసీపీ కౌన్సిలర్ ను కుక్కని కొట్టినట్టు కొట్టిన టీడీపీ నాయకులు.”
When translated, it claims: “TDP leaders thrash a YSRCP councillor just like a dog”
Fact Check:
The claim is False. The video shows leaders of the same party, TDP fighting with each other.
When we searched the key frames extracted from the video using Google reverse image search, we found a YouTube video published by Sakshi TV on February 29, 2016, with the title Guntur TDP politics: TDP leaders clash and fight in Municipal Corporation Meeting.
Taking the cue, when searched using the keywords “Clash between TDP leaders in Guntur”, we found an article published in Deccan Chronicle on March 1, 2016. The article states that Gummadi Ramesh, the 3rd ward councillor, and Pasupulati Trimurtulu, of the 12th ward, hurled blows at each other in full view of other elected representatives of the council.
The problem started when Mr Ramesh and Mr Trimurtulu differed on recording the details of the minutes of the meeting. Mr Ramesh said that every issue that was debated in the council should be written in the minutes book to make things transparent while Mr Trimurtulu felt that every trivial issue need not be written in the book.
The verbal argument intensified and the duo switched to using unparliamentary language against each other. Within minutes, tempers ran high and Mr Ramesh attacked Mr Trimurtulu and the latter too replied in the same.
The viral video was also posted by ANI on February 29, 2016, with the caption “WATCH: Clash between 2 councillors of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Tenali municipality of Guntur Distt (Andhra Pradesh)”
Hence, the viral video does not show the recent fight between TDP and JSP leaders or between leaders of TDP and YSRCP leaders. The video shows a scuffle between 2 TDP leaders during a municipal meeting that took place in 2016.