A quote post attributed to Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat is making rounds on social media which reads that “to become a leader, it should be made mandatory to serve the country in the army for 5 years.”
The text read: “आर्मी चीफ बिपिन रावत जी ने कहा अगर नेता बनना है तो 5 साल पहले देश की सेवा के लिए आर्मी में होना अनिवार्य कर दिया जाए ! यकीन मानिए देश का 80% कचरा अपने आप ही साफ़ हो जायेगा. इनके बातो से कितने लोग सहमत है जो सहमत हैं शेयर करे”
Translate: Army chief Bipin Rawat said that to become a leader, it should be made mandatory to serve the country in the army for 5 years. Believe it or not, 80% of India’s garbage will be cleared automatically. How many people agree with his statement. Share this, if you do.
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Same picture post was shared by a Facebook page I Support Doval which has over 1.7 million followers. At the time of reporting, post had already got close to 3,000 shares.
FACT CHECK
When this picture post went viral on social media, the Indian army had clarified through their social media channels on September 11, 2018, that the statement being circulated was false.
सोशल मीडिया पर सेना अध्यक्ष जनरल बिपिन रावत द्वारा जारी किया हुआ एक झूठा बयान कुछ असामाजिक तत्वों ने फैलाने का प्रयास किया है। यह बयान तथ्यहीन और गलत है।कृपया इसे आगे न फैलाएं। #IndianArmy @HQ_IDS_India pic.twitter.com/2fAIgZUgY6
— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) September 11, 2018
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The clarification by the Army said: Some anti-social elements had circulated a false statement ascribed to General Bipin Rawat. This fake quote was once again shared on social media on September 16, 2018, despite the earlier clarification.