Fact Check: A video is going viral on social media claiming that Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami distributed money ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024. The video has been posted by an X user @AdarshKatiyaINC.
The thumbnail of the video says that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was caught distributing money openly and that people were trying to relate it to ongoing Lok Sabha elections saying he (Dhami) distributed money during the polls.
What fact check unveiled?
When India TV did a fact check, it find out that this is an old video and was not related to the Lok Sabha polls.
The video first surfaced during 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly elections when an AAP leader had alleged same allegation on Pushkar Singh Dhami.
AAP's Uttarakhand unit on February 13, 2022 had shared this video on social media saying, "What's happening in Khatima? Pushkar Singh Dhami is distributing money after the election campaign. When AAP candidate SS Kaler caught Dhami in open distributing money, he tried to switch off the camera. Election Commission and CEO must take note of it."
The envelope seen in the video has Shiv Arora written on it. Shiv Arora won the election in 2022 and is a BJP MLA from Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. It was also found in old news that Shiv Arora was accused of distributing money in envelopes in the 2022 elections in Uttarakhand.
What was the conclusion?
A fact check of these claims revealed that the video of CM Dhami being made viral is from 2022. It has no connection with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But an attempt is being made to spread confusion amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
