India TV Fact Check: A screenshot of a Hindi newspaper is spreading widely on social media, claiming that Congress general secretary K C Venugopal commented on ending caste-based reservations. Many users have shared this screenshot to criticise the Congress party's stance on reservation policy. However, when India TV investigated this claim, it was found to be false.
What is going viral?
Several social media are sharing a newspaper screenshot claiming that KC Venugopal made a statement about ending reservations. A user on the social media platform X posted a newspaper clipping, saying, "Congress is the root of unrest and casteism in the country. As long as Congress exists, attacks on reservations will continue. If Congress is destroyed, reservations will flourish."
Another social media user shared the newspaper clipping and wrote, "Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was right: Congress was anti-Dalit, is anti-Dalit, and will remain anti-SC/ST. Just look, Congress leaders themselves are saying that Congress's biggest goal is to end reservations in India."
India TV did investigation
As the newspaper clip went viral on social media, being Congress leader we decided to investigate this claim. To verify the viral claim, we scrutinised the newspaper and discovered it was labelled "Aapki Awaaz." However, our search revealed no credible publication by that name.
Further, we searched for media reports regarding the viral statement using relevant keywords. If a Congress leader had indeed made such a remark against reservations, it would likely have been covered by the media. However, we found no credible reports related to this statement.
During our investigation, we came across Venugopal's latest statement on reservations in a report published on the ABP News website. In this statement, he accused the BJP of defaming Rahul Gandhi, asserting that the agenda promoted by the BJP would not be advantageous for them. Following Rahul Gandhi's remarks on reservations in Washington, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha faced attacks from the BJP, prompting Venugopal to defend Rahul Gandhi and criticise the BJP.
What came out in fact check?
The fact check has revealed that the viral newspaper screenshot claiming KC Venugopal made a statement about ending reservations is edited and fake. Therefore, people are advised to be cautious and not believe such misleading claims circulating on social media.
(With PTI inputs)
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