Amidst the political crisis in Maharashtra, a video of Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who is the head of the current rebellion, is going viral on social media with claims that he was drunk at the Surat airport.
The political state of Maharashtra, with a majority of Shiv Sena leaders joining the rebellion, is also crashing and plunging down further. The rebel leaders are still in Guwahati and delaying their return to Maharashtra. The video shows Shinde looking dazed and unable to speak, appearing as if he was intoxicated, and is being shared with the caption, "Rebel Shiv Sena leader Shinde. Was drunk on power or just drunk?"
Prominent and verified accounts like Prashant Bhushan, Swati Chaturvedi, and Pravina M Morajkar have shared the video snippet too, with similar claims, along with it going viral on Facebook and Twitter.
Rebel Shiv Sena leader Shinde. Was drunk on power or just drunk? pic.twitter.com/AY1NDBpCjm
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) June 25, 2022
What's going on? Is Shinde normal? Can't walk or even speak? What's he high on? pic.twitter.com/SL89LYikUe
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) June 25, 2022
महाराष्ट्राचे तथाकथित भावी उपमुख्यमंत्री फुल टाईट ..#shivsena pic.twitter.com/Z7ptWkVo0U
— प्रविणा मनिष मोरजकर - Pravina Manish Morajkar (@MorajkarPravina) June 25, 2022
Is Eknath Shinde drunk or drugged? Can't walk or talk coherently.pic.twitter.com/FFwKhsOeLq
— Sangha/ਸੰਘਾ/संघा/سنگھا (@FarmStudioz) June 25, 2022
Claim:
Shiv Sena rebellion leader Eknath Shinde was drunk at Surat airport.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian Fact Check Team verified the viral claim and found it to be misleading.
We first conducted a keyword search including the visible logo of 'MH04 Media' and 'Eknath Shinde', but the original video wasn't available on their Facebook page anymore, and they didn't have a YouTube channel.
We then keyword searched for the longer version of the video, which led us to a video posted by a Facebook user. The video shows Shinde in the exact location, but talking to the press normally.
हा तो खरा पुर्ण व्हिडीओ.👇
एकनाथ शिंदे दारू पिऊन आहेत असा व्हिडीओ सध्या सामाज माध्यमांवर व्हायरल होतोय, त्यात काहीही...
Posted by Ravikant Gophane on Saturday, 25 June 2022
An even longer version of the video was found too, where he is seen interacting with the press.
The video of Eknath Shinde drinking alcohol is currently going viral on social media, there is no fact in it.@PIBFactCheck@FactCheckIndia@AssamCid @assampolice @GuwahatiPol
— राम शास्त्री (@iram_shastri) June 26, 2022
Take this real full video.👇 pic.twitter.com/Mn0tAoVkbJ
An ANI video of Shinde, along with other rebel leaders stepping down from the bus, also gave no hint of the alleged intoxication.
#WATCH | Gujarat: Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, with 34 party MLAs & 7 independent MLAs, who were staying at Le Meridien hotel in Surat reach Surat International Airport to leave for Guwahati, Assam. pic.twitter.com/YtWVJEo88n
— ANI (@ANI) June 21, 2022
We also found ground reports of Shinde at the Surat airport which shows him being completely sober, making us conclude that the viral video snippet was taken out of context.
The Logical Indian Fact Check Team verified the viral claim and found it to be misleading. Eknath Shinde was not drunk at the Surat airport, and the video snippet is taken out of context.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
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