India TV Fact Check: A video of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is going viral on social media with users claiming that he said that Dr BR Ambedkar drafted the Indian Constitution when he was drunk. This clip has gone viral amid the ongoing political debate over the Constitution and Ambedkar. However, a fact-check by India TV revealed that these claims are entirely false.
What is going viral?
An X user shared the video with the caption, "BR Ambedkar was drunk while writing the Constitution: @ArvindKejriwal." Another Facebook user shared the video of Arvind Kejriwal and claimed that he disrespected the Constitution and its makers in it. "Found this smiling video of the Aam Aadmi Party chief... after listening to which everyone will be able to see the true colours of such an impostor!" read the caption of the post.
In the viral clip, Kejriwal can be heard saying, "We were sitting... someone said whoever wrote the Constitution must have been drunk while doing it."
India TV did investigation
As the video went viral on social media, a thorough investigation was launched to verify its authenticity. First, we did a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes using Google Lens, which led us to several other social media posts sharing the same video with similar claims. During the investigation, we also came across a post on X by AAP Rajasthan spokesperson Devender Yadav. In his reply to a user who had shared the viral video, Yadav shared a longer, unedited version of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statement, providing additional context to the claims made in the viral clip.
In a post, Yadav said, "BJP members came out in support of Congress.This is the real video!Daba Saheb's devotee Arvind Kejriwal had said "The one who wrote the constitution of Congress must have written it after drinking alcohol"BJP people are cutting it and running a fake video.@PunjabPoliceInd. Will take action against everyone. Spread the truth, not lies."
We also came across the 17-minute-long original video posted in December 2012 on YouTube of the Aam Aadmi Party on December 3, 2012. According to the video's description, Kejriwal made this speech at Raj Ghat in New Delhi on November 25, 2012.
From the 4.35 minutes timestamp, Kejriwal was heard saying: "I have read the constitution of all political parties. The constitution of the Congress Party says that no Congress worker will consume alcohol... We were sitting... Somebody said whoever wrote the constitution must have done it after drinking alcohol."
What came out in fact check?
A fact-check conducted by India TV has confirmed that a 12-year-old speech of Kejriwal was cropped and shared on social media with a false claim. People are advised to remain cautious and not believe such misleading claims circulating on social media.
Also Read: Fact Check: Has JNU been renamed as Dr BR Ambedkar University? Here's the truth
Also Read: Fact Check: Cristiano Ronaldo converts to Islam? Know truth of viral images
