A video showing people protesting has surfaced on social media platforms, claiming that the residents of Punjab have urged the Haryana electorates not to vote for the Aam Aadmi Party.
The Facebook post reads: “People from Punjab are spending money from their own pockets and are travelling to Haryana to warn people against voting for AAP and INDI Alliance.”
The above post can be seen here. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim, and found it to be misleading.
Upon closely analysing the viral footage, our team noticed a reporter interviewing a protester, asking: “Who should the people of Adampur vote for?”
Searching with keywords like Punjab, Adampur, Aam Aadmi Party, and Protest on YouTube, we found a report by IBN24 News Network, dated November 1, 2022, informing that a group of ex-servicemen from Punjab had arrived in Khairampur village in Adampur to urge voters not to support AAP in the Adampur by-poll.
Approximately, 4:30 minutes into the video, we observed the same protester speaking against AAP, as seen in the viral footage.
Moreover, in the viral footage, the banner affixed to the mini-truck transporting the protesters bears the message, “Reinstate the GoG scheme”. Searching further, we found numerous reports from 2022 outlining the ex-servicemen’s agitation, calling for restoration of the Guardians of Governance Scheme.
A report by The Hindustan Times, dated September 13, 2022, highlights that a significant number of ex-servicemen marched towards the venue, donning black strips on their red turbans to signify their protest against the termination of the GoG scheme. This scheme, a flagship programme of the previous Captain Amarinder Singh government, aimed to enlist ex-servicemen to oversee government initiatives.
It’s worth noting that a shortened version of the video became viral in November 2022, falsely claiming to depict an anti-AAP protest in Gujarat.
So, conclusively, it can be said that an old video featuring ex-servicemen from Punjab, urging Haryana voters to oppose the AAP, has been widely circulated with false narratives.
