Clipped video claims Gehlot and Congress support pro-Khalistani leader Amrit Pal Singh; Fact Check

A clipped video of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is being shared on social media with a claim that his party Congress supported views of Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh for his separatist Khalistan movement.

In the 10-seconds-long viral video, Gehlot says, “Amritpal Singh is saying that if they are talking about Hindu nation, then why I cannot talk about Khalistan?”

Congress supports Khal!stan movement?

Ashok Gehlot says “Amritpal ne bahot satik baat boli” pic.twitter.com/rZJ9aU48G7

— Hardik (@Humor_Silly) April 1, 2023

Several people retweeted the clipped video adding a false context that the Congress leader has shown support for the pro-Khalistan activist against India. BJP Delhi vice president Sunil Yadav tweeted the video with a claim in Hindi that translates to, “Congress CM Ashok Gehlot said if someone can demand Hindu Rashtra, then why can not Amritpal demand Khalistan…” He also added that Gehlot has forgotten that a Khalistani had killed Indira Gandhi. (कांग्रेस CM अशोक गहलोत ने कहा अगर ये हिंदू राष्ट्र की माँग कर सकते हैं तो अमृतपाल क्यों नहीं खालिस्तान की माँग कर सकता। कांग्रेस इतनी तिलमिलाई हुई है कि इस हड़बड़ाहट में गहलोत जी सिर्फ वोटों के चक्कर में ये भी भूल गये कि इंदिरा गाँधी की हत्या एक खालिस्तानी ने ही की थी।)

It was shared among others by film maker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, too, shared the clipped video just saying “BOOM” on his official Twitter handle.

FACT CHECK

When we checked the full video of Gehlot, we found that the original video actually depicts how Gehlot was criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party saying Amritpal Singh in Punjab is getting the courage to demand Khalistan due to the calls for Hindu nation. He said, “I felt bad when I heard that Amritpal Singh is saying that if they are talking about Hindu nation, then why I cannot talk about Khalistan? What an accurate thing he has said! This is a very dangerous statement for the country.”

#WATCH | Politics is being done in the name of religion in the country. Amritpal Singh is saying that if Mohan Bhagwat & Narendra Modi talk about Hindu Rashtra, then why shouldn’t I talk about Khalistan? It is easy to start a fire but it takes time to extinguish it: Rajasthan CM pic.twitter.com/fCZqJQ8h8A

— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) March 31, 2023

In the original video,  Gehlot was saying that Amritpal Singh is demanding Khalistan because RSS Leader Mohan Bhagwat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocate for a Hindu nation. So, the claim that Gehlot and Congress

Claim: Ashok Gehlot and Congress say Amritpal Singh was right in demanding Khalistan.

Conclusion: No, the video was clipped and before saying this, Gehlot said such separatist movements are ‘dangerous’ and compared Amritpal Singh’s movement to similar calls for converting India to a Hindu nation.

Rating: Totally false —