DigitEye India Fact Checkers
As elections to the Lok Sabha crossed the mid-point, several claims on who’s supporting whom have been shared on social media platforms. In this context, a video of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat praising the role of Congress in Indian independence struggle is being shared with a claim that he made the statement after the fifth phase of voting for Lok Sabha elections on May 20.
Mohan Bhagwat can be heard saying in the video:”The people in our country have little political awareness. There should be political awareness among the people. That is why a major movement by the Congress was started across the country, with many great men who inspire our lives even today. The movement paved the way for freedom and contributed to our independence movement.”
पांचवें चरण के बाद आरएसएस के मोहन भागवत भी कांग्रेस की योगदान को याद करने लगे.!!
मोदी जा रहा है.. INDIA की सरकार aa रही हैं। https://t.co/cPsAxxaC4s— Hitendra Pithadiya 🇮🇳 (@HitenPithadiya) May 21, 2024
The video was shared by Hitendra Pithadia, the President of the Gujarat Congress SC Cell, with a claim that reads in Hindi:”पांचवें चरण के बाद आरएसएस के मोहन भागवत भी कांग्रेस की योगदान को याद करने लगे.!! मोदी जा रहा है.. INDIA की सरकार aa रही हैं।” [Translated into English, it reads: “After the fifth phase, RSS’s Mohan Bhagwat also started remembering the contribution of Congress.!! Modi is going… Indian government is coming.”
FACT CHECK
After checking key frames of the video, we checked for the original video based on the ANI logo in the video. We found the original video that was uploaded on the YouTube channel of both ANI and HT (Hindustan Times) on September 17 and 18, 2018, respectively. When checked further, we found that this video was from September 2018, when RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat spoke on Independence struggle at a conference in Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi and it was aired by the news agency ANI as seen below:
When we checked social media, the same video had hit headlines in 2018 when it was shared by senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to listen to what RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said about the role of Congress during the freedom struggle.
The event on freedom struggle was inaugurated by Bhagwat on September 17, 2018, and his full speech can be seen on the YouTube channel of Sansad TV here. The Congress part of the video starts from the timestamp 18:58 onwards. In his speech, Bhagwat said that the Congress played a significant role in India’s freedom movement and also gave the country several great leaders.
However, the same old video of Mohan Bhagwat’s speech in 2018 was shared on May 21, 2014 with a misleading claim that he praised the role of Congress after the fifth phase of voting.
Claim: Video of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat shows him praising Congress after the fifth phase of voting in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Conclusion: The claim is false. A five-year-old video of Mohan Bhagwat’s speech on freedom struggle was shared as recent, after the 5th phase of voting in 2024 elections.
Rating: Misrepresentation — 
