Is Yogendra Yadav’s original name Salim? Fact check

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya recently tweeted inserting a video that claims Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India party was named Salim originally and sought votes using the name. He claimed, “I usually don’t carry TV debates to social media but making an exception to expose Yogendra Yadav’s Janus face.”

Here’s the video shared by Malaviya in which Yadav was seen speaking to a crowd in Muslim dominated Mewat:

I usually don’t carry TV debates to social media but making an exception to expose @_YogendraYadav’s janus face. Here is a video where he can be seen bragging his Muslim identity to a largely Muslim audience in Muslim dominated Mewat. If this isn’t cynical politics, then what is? pic.twitter.com/sPeHqaILpB

— Chowkidar Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 19, 2019

The video was in response to a TV debate on India Today over BJP’s Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh’s recent remarks. Yogendra Yadav challenged Malviya to produce any proof that shows him playing caste politics. In his reply, Amit Malviya shared the above video clip and asked Yadav, “When are you withdrawing from public life?”

Yogendra Yadav replied with the following tweet which has full clip of what he said at Mewat. In this video, he said:“Woh chahta toh zindagi bhar Musalmano se nafrat kar sakta tha. Chahta toh RSS ban sakta tha. Bahut sadahran baat hoti. Lekin uss shaks ne taiy kia ki na Hindu Banega na Musalman Banega, Insaan ki aulad hai, Insaan banega. Aur uss ne taiy kia ki apne bacchon ko mai Muslim naam doonga. Us se mera naam Salim para tha, jo kissa bataya jata hai aaj kal”

Translation: “If he (my father) wanted, he could have hated Muslims throughout his life. If he wanted he could have become an RSS member. It would have been the usual course. But he decided that neither Hindu nor Muslim, they should become human. Hence, he decided that he will give Muslim names to his children. That is how I was named Salim.”

The video depicts Yadav saying that his grandfather was murdered in the presence of his father, then seven years old, by a Muslim mob but instead of nurturing grudge, he chose to follow Mahatma Gandhi’s path and gave Muslim names to his children. Hence, his original name was Salim but owing to bullying in school, it was changed to Yogendra when he was five years old. But his oponents claimed that he was using his name to get Muslim votes but what follows in his speech was different.

The full video was posted live on Facebook page of Swaraj India party, on July 29, 2018 under the title: ‘मेवात में रकबर खान कि हत्या के बाद वहाँ के पंचायत को संबोधित करते योगेंद्र यादव’which is translated as “Yogendra Yadav addressing the panchayat in Mewat after murder of Rakbar Khan- translation.” The context to his name starts at 8:33 minutes.

Some key wordings such as “Na Hindu banega na Musalman banega, insaan ki aulaad hai insaan banega” was deleted from Malviya’s video, claiming that the speaker was appealing to Muslims for a vote.

Conclusion: Yogendra Yadav has explained why he was named Salim by his father but it was misrepresented and used in a different context by Amit Malviya. Our rating of this claim is ??? Misrepresentation.