India TV Fact Check: A video of Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari speaking in the Parliament has gone viral on social media, with claims that he announced that people living within 60 km of a toll booth could cross it without paying any fee, just by showing their Aadhar card. However, a fact check by India TV has confirmed that this claim is entirely false.
What is going viral?
Several social media users purportedly shared a video of Nitin Gadkari. Sharing the viral video on Facebook, a user wrote, "There is no toll fee payable at any toll booth within 60 km from your home. You have to use your Aadhaar card for this.@nitin_gadkari This is the order of the Central Government."
In the video, Union Minister Gadkari says, "If you have an Aadhaar card and there is a toll, a pass should be issued immediately upon presenting the Aadhaar card. I agree with this suggestion. In places where such tolls cause problems for local people, we will issue passes based on Aadhaar cards." He also states, "There should be no toll within 60 km, though some are still operational. I assure you that this practice is wrong and illegal. I promise that within three months, there will be only one toll booth, and any additional ones will be closed."
India TV investigated
The video quickly gained traction on social media, prompting our investigation into the claim. Using Google Open Search, we examined various websites and social media platforms. Our fact check revealed that the claim associated with the video is false. The video of Nitin Gadkari is from 2022, and in his parliamentary speech, he did not announce that tolls would be waived for toll plazas within 60 km from one's home.
Initially, we performed a reverse image search on keyframes from the viral video. This led us to find Nitin Gadkari’s related statements in media reports from March 2022. Gadkari had indeed said that any toll plaza located within 60 km of another on a national highway would be closed. In the viral video too, Gadkari can be heard saying the same thing, that is, Gadkari did not talk about the distance of 60 km from home, but about the distance of 60 km between two toll plazas on the national highway. The same thing is also mentioned on the NHAI website that the distance between two toll booths should be more than 60 km.
Further investigation revealed the full video on Doordarshan’s official YouTube channel, uploaded on March 22, 2022. In this video, Gadkari discusses providing passes through Aadhaar cards to residents near toll plazas, but does not mention waiving tolls within 60 km from one's home.
What was found in the Fact Check?
India TV's fact check has confirmed that the claim about toll tax exemption for individuals living within 60 km of a toll plaza is false. The viral video of Nitin Gadkari from 2022 is being circulated with misleading information. People are advised to be cautious and verify such claims before believing or sharing them.
