Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
Did Owaisi threaten Hindus? A viral video shared on social media claims that MP and President of AIMIM, Asaduddin Owaisi threatened to take revenge on Hindus for the crimes committed against Muslims in his latest speech.
This clip was shared on Twitter by the BJP Spokesperson of Delhi, Anuja Kapur who has around 39,000 followers on the platform. The tweet claimed that this is hate speech that is openly threatening Hindus.
Newschecker found at least 3 posts on Twitter that shared similar claims. One of which garnered over 500,000 views, 1,735 Retweets and 3,794 likes. This tweet was shared by Twitter user, Shefali Vaidya who is an author and has over 615,000 followers on the platform.
Other users also shared this video clip with similar claims.
In the video, Asaduddin Owaisi is seen saying “Please remember, Yogi will not be the Chief Minister always. Modi will not be the Prime Minister forever. We Muslims will not forget your injustice. We will remember this injustice. Allah will destroy you through his strength. Things will change. Who will come to save you then? When Yogi will return to his mutt and Modi will retreat to the mountains, then who will come?”
This viral video clip came into prominence on social media in light of the recent controversy regarding a two day ‘Dharam Sansad’ held in Haridwar from 17-19 December 2021. At this event, many religious leaders gathered and gave speeches and a video of the event has gone viral on social media where one of the speakers is seen making a statement, which calls for the genocide of the members of the minority community and asking Hindu citizens to prepare themselves for the coming war waged against those who stand against the creation of a Hindu Rashtra.
After the incident in Haridwar came to light, an FIR was lodged against some of the speakers at the event alleging hate speech. In order to downplay the incident, social media users along with many ministers took to Twitter by sharing the viral video of Asaduddin Owaisi and asking that the same fate be meted out to him which awaits the speakers who allegedly indulged in hate speech at Haridwar.
Fact Check/Verification
While investigating this video which is viral on social media in the name of Asaduddin Owaisi indulging in hate speech against Hindus, we searched the key-frames of the video on Google and were led to a YouTube video by One Channel. The video contains the full speech by Asaduddin Owaisi at a rally in Kanpur.
Newschecker found that the rally was held on 12th December 2021, five days before the Dharma Sansad held in Haridwar. The users who shared the viral video clip had insinuated that the comments were made in response to the inflammatory statements made in Haridwar.
The full video can be seen below.
The relevant portion of the video starts at 39:10 where Owaisi is seen recounting the atrocities committed by the police of Uttar Pradesh against Muslims in Kanpur. In reaction to the atrocities committed, Owaisi warned the police of Uttar Pradesh that times will change and in the future and figures like Yogi Adityanath and PM Modi will not be able to hold the same amount of influence as they do now. He went on to say that Allah will serve divine justice on their behalf.
In response to the viral video, Owaisi clarified his position on Twitter claiming “I said do not confuse our silence for acquiescence.”
A keyword search on the claim with the keywords ‘owaisi’, ‘hate’, ‘speech’, ‘Kanpur’ led the Newschecker team to an article published by the NDTV website on 24th December 2021.
Conclusion
In our investigation, we found that the claim made on social media that Asaduddin Owaisi has indulged in hate speech against Hindus is misleading. Owaisi was rather talking about the atrocities committed on Muslims by the UP Police and claimed that Allah will serve justice on their behalf.
Result: Misplaced Context
Sources
Asaduddin Owaisi Twitter Account
If you would like us to fact check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill the form.
Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
