Did Kanhaiya Kumar Call Rahul Gandhi A Fool? No, Cropped Video Viral With False Claims

A viral video showing Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Kanhaiya Kumar commenting on the recent surge in Covid-19 infections globally is widely circulated across social media. The video was circulated with the claim that Kanhaiya Kumar referred to Gandhi as a fool over his comments on the increase in Covid-19 cases.

The BF.7 strain of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is seemingly causing an incline in infections globally. On Tuesday, 157 new Covid-19 cases were detected, and mock drills were held in hospitals across the country to check preparedness to deal with another possible outbreak.

Claim:

In the video, Rahul Gandhi and Kanhaiya Kumar's videos are placed side by side. Rahul Gandhi says, "They are giving new excuses to stop the Yatra. They keep saying: wear masks, stop the Yatra, Covid-19 is spreading again. All these are just excuses." Then the video cuts to Kanhaiya Kumar's speech, where he says, "Someone, please explain to these extreme fools that Covid-19 is not an excuse; it is a disease. It is not like a child making excuses to his mother to avoid going to school. It is a disease and not an excuse."

Right-wing personality Major Surendra Poonia shared the video, saying, "Kanhaiya Kumar is calling him a big fool."

Users are circulating the video with similar claims across Twitter and Facebook.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the viral claim and found it false. The viral video is clipped and presented out of context.

We conducted a keyword search with the terms 'excuses to stop the Yatra' and came across The Hindu report published on December 22, 2022. The report said that Rahul Gandhi was commenting on the request made by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who reportedly wrote to him to consider suspending the Bharat Jodo Yatra if the Congress could not follow Covid protocols.

As per the report, Gandhi was addressing a gathering in Ghasera village in Haryana's Nuh district, where he was quoted as saying that the Yatra would continue to Kashmir. "Now, they have come out with a new idea. They wrote me a letter that Covid was spreading, stop the Yatra."

Gandhi is quoted as saying, "Now, they are coming up with excuses to stop the Yatra. Wear masks, stop the Yatra; Covid is spreading; these are all excuses."

We also came across a Hindustan Times report titled, ''Centre finding excuses to stop Bharat Jodo Yatra': Rahul on Mandaviya's letter", published on December 23, 2022. The report noted that Gandhi accused the Centre of coming up with excuses for stopping the Yatra.

In the HT report, Gandhi is quoted as saying, "Now, they have come out with a new idea. They wrote me a letter that Covid-19 was spreading, stop the Yatra."

We also came across a tweet by news agency ANI, uploaded on December 22, 2022, with the caption, "All these are excuses to stop this Yatra; they are scared of India's truth."

In the 1.21-minute video, Gandhi says, "They wrote me a letter that Covid-19 was spreading and the Yatra has to be stopped. The BJP is coming up with new excuses to stop the Yatra. They say: wear masks, stop the Yatra; covid-19 cases are spreading. All these are just excuses. They are afraid of our country's strength and truth. This is our truth. We have been on the road walking for the past 100 days. Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, and people from several communities are becoming a part of the Yatra."

We then conducted a keyword search with terms from Kanhaiya Kumar's portion of the speech. This threw up a report from The Quint published on December 23, 2022, with the title, ''Where Was COVID When...': Kanhaiya Slams BJP on Bharat Jodo Yatra.'

In the report, Kumar is quoted as criticizing the BJP for bringing up the Covid-19 excuse in an attempt to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress leader criticizes the BJP for allegedly not following Covid protocols during the delta variant wave. Kumar says, "Does he think of us as fools? They need to understand that COVID is not an excuse, but an actual disease," referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

We also came across a report by NDTV titled 'Kanhaiya Kumar's Take On Rahul Gandhi Walking In T-Shirt In Delhi Winter' published on December 24, 2022, which contained the exact quote by Kanhaiya Kumar. Kumar is quoted as saying, "Covid is a disease, not an excuse. Don't make it a political excuse."

We also came across a report uploaded by Times Now on December 23, titled, 'Kanhaiya Kumar Mocks COVID-19 Norms | Calls Centre's Advisory A Bid To Derail Bharat Jodo Yatra'. In the report, at the 20-second mark, Kumar is heard saying, "He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) did not wear a mask while talking to a gathering. While the delta variant was rampant, PM Modi went to West Bengal for elections but did not wear a mask."

"On the other hand, PM Modi holds online meetings with Chief Ministers where he puts a mask on his face. He thinks people are fools. And after this, now they bring new excuses. Someone, please explain to these fools that Covid-19 is not an excuse but a disease, and it is not like a child avoiding going to school," Kumar said.

Conclusion:

We found that Kanhaiya Kumar was not referring to Rahul Gandhi as a fool. Instead, from the entire clip, Kumar was referring to PM Modi's actions while wearing a mask, given the surging Covid-19 infections. In the context of Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya sending a letter to Gandhi allegedly advising against carrying out the Yatra, the Congress leader was responding to this letter which can be seen in the viral video. Thus, we can conclude that Rahul Gandhi and Kanhaiya Kumar did not enter into a war of words over Covid-19.

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