Authors
A video of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari refraining from clapping or thumping the table during PM Modi’s speech on the motion of thanks in Lok Sabha is going viral on social media.
The video, a 38-second long clip from the Prime Minister’s address in Lok Sabha, shows BJP parliamentarians clapping and thumping the table, cheering the PM for his remark, while Nitin Gadkari can be seen holding back, neither clapping nor thumping the table.
Many users are sharing the video on Twitter and social media including verified handles. Among those sharing the video is the handle @Ahmedkhabeer, a verified user, who tweeted “Nitin Gadkari didn’t Clap at Modi’s cheap theatrics”.
Several other users have also shared the video with the identical claim on Twitter and Facebook.
The Archive of the post can be seen here, here and here
Fact Check/Verification
To Investigate the claim, we went through PM Modi’s speech on the motion of thanks in Lok sabha. A longer version of the speech is available on Sansad TV, the official youtube channel of Parliament.
We spotted the viral portion of the PM’s speech 53:52 minutes into the YouTube video where the Prime Minister can be heard saying “The trust and belief of the country in me is because of my hard work and commitment and not because of any media or PR”.
Soon after, at 54:18 the camera pans to show members of the treasury bench and other members of Parliament cheering for the PM. Nitin Gadkari can be clearly seen joining others in clapping for PM Modi.
But at 54:23, Nitin Gadkari stops clapping. This lasts for 10 seconds. At 54:33, Nitin Gadkari resumes clapping just as the camera pans once to show the other members of the house again.
It is noteworthy that in this duration, the agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, sitting next to Nitin Gadkari also stops clapping, and resumes a few seconds later. As the chants of ‘Modi’ fills the room, Home Minister Amit Shah also stops clapping at 54:32, just before Nitin Gadkari resumes.
This proves that Nitin Gadkari did join his colleagues in clapping and he resumed clapping after a brief pause.
On comparing the YouTube video with the viral video, we note that the particular part, where Nitin Gadkari can be seen clapping, is edited out. The part where Gadkari is seen pausing briefly is looped at 00:32s, giving the impression that he refrained from cheering for the PM.
Conclusion
We thus can conclude that the viral video showing Nitin Gadkari refraining from thumping or clapping for the Prime Minister during his speech in the Lok Sabha is altered.
Result: Altered media
Our Sources
Video Posted by Sansad TV, Dated 8 Feb 2023
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.
