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.
Claim
BJP MP Anurag Thakur stumps Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during the Lok Sabha session, mockingly asking whether he knows how many pages are there in the Constitution.
Fact
Viral video is edited, original video shows Thakur taking on MPs belonging to the Opposition bloc.
Several social media users are circulating a video, claiming it shows BJP MP Anurag Thakur mocking Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during the ongoing session of the Lok Sabha. “How many pages are there in the Constitution? How many? Don’t say it is ‘this’ [making a gesture with his fingers] fat,” Thakur purportedly asks Gandhi, leaving him speechless, adding, “Tell me how many pages are there? You have been roaming around with it every day. Haven’t you bothered to read it once? You do not read, but wave it around. Take it out of your pockets and see.”
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker first ran a keyword search for “Anurag Thakur constitution pages Lok Sabha”, which led us to this ANI report, dated July 1, 2024, headlined, “‘How many pages are there in Constitution?’ Anurag Thakur questions INDIA bloc MPs”.
“Former Union Minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur threw a challenge at the Opposition MPs asking them how many pages are there in the Indian Constitution and saying that they did not even bother to read it but waves it around,” read the report, stating that it happened during the Hamirpur MP’s speech on the Motion of Thanks on President’s Address. The report does not state that Thakur was directly attacking Gandhi. A similar TOI report, dated July 2, 2024, can be seen here, stating that Thakur had posed the question to the Opposition MPs, while adding that Gandhi was not in the House when Thakur made the remarks
A relevant keyword search led us to this video on Parliamentary Youtube channel Sansad TV, dated July 1, 2024, headlined, “Anurag Thakur’s Remarks | Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in 18th Lok Sabha”. The viral exchange can be seen from the 56:35 mark, where you can see clearly that the camera does not focus on Gandhi at any point during Thakur’s remarks, contradicting the viral video. A Times Now report on Thakur’s speech can be seen here. We saw that Thakur had taken on TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, which can be seen from the 57:54 mark.
A further search led us to multiple news reports, seen here and here, on Thakur’s attack on Banerjee over the Emergency, which confirms that the viral video had been edited to make it look like Thakur was having an exchange with Rahul Gandhi. We also came across this Outlook news report, dated July 3, 2024, stating that a doctored clip of Anurag Thakur’s remarks appeared to suggest Rahul Gandhi failed to answer the question, however, the Congress leader was not present in the House at the time of the BJP leader’s speech.
Also Read: Hathras Stampede: Old Video Falsely Linked To The Recent UP Tragedy
Conclusion
Viral video edited to make it look like BJP MP Anurag Thakur left Congress MP Rahul Gandhi speechless during the Lok Sabha session, by mockingly asking whether he knows how many pages are there in the Constitution.
Result: Altered Media
Source
Youtube video, Sansad TV, July 1, 2024
ANI report, July 1, 2024
TOI report, July 2, 2024
NDTV India report, July 2, 2024
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 out the form. Follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates.
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.
