Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra courted a massive political controversy after calling Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde a traitor in a parody song. The Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) workers vandalised the Habitat studio in Mumbai, the venue where Kamra made the comments as part of his stand-up gig.
Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) leader Sanjay Nirupam also demanded that Kamra withdraw his remarks against Shinde and apologise for it, or else face the wrath of the party workers.
In this backdrop, a video of Sanjay Nirupam is going viral, where he can be heard saying, “It should be written on the forehead of Maharashtra’s honourable Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s son that ‘My father is a traitor’.”
Sharing the same, multiple users claimed that Sanjay Nirupam had himself called Eknath Shinde a traitor in an old video. Newschecker, however, found that the video is clipped.
Such posts can be seen here, here and here.
Fact Check/Verification
On closely analysing the viral clip, we noticed the watermark of news agency ANI as well as the news agency’s logo on the mic.
Taking a clue, we looked up keywords “Sanjay Nirupam” and “interview” on the official YouTube channel of ANI, which led us to a video from May 2024. The video’s description stated that it shows Nirupam’s reaction to the comments by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi.
Around 40 seconds in the YouTube video, Nirupam is heard saying, “The woman MP of Shiv Sena (UBT), she has said that it should be written on the forehead of Maharashtra’s honourable Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s son, ‘My father is a traitor’ … I want to reply to her that it is actually UBT who has betrayed. Uddhav Thackeray has betrayed. He has betrayed the voters. He has betrayed the BJP. And he betrayed Balasaheb Thackeray…”
Notably, a snippet from the ANI video, where Nirupam is recounting the statements of the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, has been taken out and is being shared to falsely claim that he called Shinde a traitor.
The full video was also shared on the official X account of ANI on May 10, 2024, stating, “Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam says, “The woman MP of Shiv Sena (UBT) has said that it should be written on the forehead of Maharashtra’s CM’s son that ‘mera baap gaddar hai‘. I want to give her a reply that it’s Shiv Sena (UBT) which has betrayed, it’s Uddhav Thackeray who has betrayed. He has betrayed the BJP, the people and Balasaheb Thackeray…”
Adding, “If you want ‘mera baap gaddar hai‘ to be written on the forehead of Shrikant, then on the forehead of Aaditya Thackeray ‘mera baap maha gaddar hai‘ should be written as they have betrayed in real (sic)…”
During a rally in May 2024, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi reportedly said, “There was a Hindi film where ‘mera baap chor hai’ (my father is a thief) was written on the son’s hand. Similarly, ‘mera baap gaddar hai’ (my father is a traitor) should be written on Shrikant Shinde’s forehead.”
Also Read: Hindu Settlement In Bangladesh Set On Fire? Here’s The Fact Behind Viral Video
Conclusion
Hence, the viral video alleging that Sanjay Nirupam called Eknath Shinde a traitor was found to be clipped, and shared out of context.
Sources
YouTube Video By ANI News, Dated May 10, 2024
X post By ANI, Dated May 10, 2024
Report By PTI, Dated May 9, 2024
