Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah says he wishes to be reborn as a Muslim.
Fact
Clipped video of Siddaramaiah calling out JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda for joining hands with the BJP and pointing out his earlier alleged anti-BJP statements.
Several social media users are circulating a 20-second video of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah addressing a crowd, where he purportedly expresses his desire to be reborn as a Muslim.
The archived version of the tweets can be seen here and here.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Siddaramaiah Muslim reborn speech”, which led us to this Deccan Herald report, dated March 10, 2024, about a convention organised for the beneficiaries of government guarantee schemes, in Mandya, which turned out to be a show of strength by the Congress.
“He [Siddaramaiah] also targeted the BJP-JD(S) alliance, claiming it as an ‘unholy alliance’. JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had said that he will not align with the communal party BJP. HD Deve Gowda had once said that he would like to be a Muslim in his next birth. Now, they have entered into a pact with the communal party…,” read the report. We also came across this The Hindu and Kannada Prabha reports, dated March 11, 2024, stating that CM Siddaramaiah targeted Deve Gowda during his speech, saying that he had earlier criticised BJP as a communal party, but has embraced BJP today.
Mr. Siddaramaiah reportedly said, “It is quite surprising to me that Mr. Gowda has now joined the BJP and has been praising him. Mr. Gowda had said that he would wish to be born as a Muslim in his next birth and had stated that he would be against the BJP always,” which indicates that the viral video actually showed Siddaramaiah calling out Gowda for the inconsistency in his stance.
A further search led us to this TV9 Kannada report, dated March 10, 2024, on Youtube, about the convention. From the 18:30 mark, you can see Siddaramaiah is criticising HD Deve Gowda. “This same Deve Gowda said that he will not join the BJP for any reason and If there is another birth, he will be born as a Muslim. You have said that you do not support BJP because it is a communal party,” he is heard saying, clearly showing that the viral video was clipped and edited in a misleading manner.
Conclusion
Clipped video of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah pointing out JDS chief HD Deve Gowda’s old anti-BJP statements shared in a misleading manner.
Also Read: Old Video Of Rapper Raftaar Hitting Out CAA Shared As Recent
Result: False
Sources
Deccan Herald report, March 10, 2024
The Hindu report, March 11, 2024
TV9 Kannada report, Youtube, March 10, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
