Fact Check: Sharmila did not confront with the police after joining the Congress, video is False
A video containing two clips has gone viral on social media: the first clip shows Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge offering Sharmila the party scarf, welcoming her into the party. The second clip shows Sharmila arguing with some police officers.
Hyderabad: A video containing two clips has gone viral on social media: the first clip shows Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge offering Sharmila the party scarf, welcoming her into the party. The second clip shows Sharmila arguing with some police officers. People sharing this clip claimed it occurred after she joined the Congress.
The caption read that the 'scarf' gives members the 'licence' for hooliganism.
Fact Check:
The claim is false.
Firstly, we ran a Google reverse image search on the clip showcasing Sharmila joining the Congress dating back to January 4, 2024. News reports and footage from that period, including an India Today video, match this timeline. This shows her official entry into the Congress party.
Secondly, the police confrontation clip originates from April 2023. To verify the context of the second clip, we divided it into separate still images and searched for them online using Google's reverse image search. This led us to a video uploaded by Mirror Now on YouTube on April 24, 2023, containing frames matching the viral clip.
Back then, Sharmila led a different party called Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Telangana Party (YSRTP). As per news reports from Dainik Bhaskar and NDTV, she was arrested during a protest related to the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) exam paper leak case. During the ensuing confrontation, she allegedly manhandled and slapped a police officer, leading to her subsequent detention.
The video depicting YS Sharmila in a confrontation with police personnel is inaccurately associated with her recent affiliation with the Congress Party. This incident actually occurred in April 2023, much before her joining the Congress.