Did Rahul Gandhi, Congress Workers Get Drunk During Bharat Jodo Yatra At A Restuarant? No, Viral Claim Is False!

A video of Congress workers walking out of a restaurant in the Kollam district of Kerala is being circulated across social media. Netizens have circulated the video claiming that the workers are exiting the restaurant in an inebriated state.

The video is viral in the context of the 150-day-long Bharat Jodo Yatra, where Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders are currently walking through Kerala. The Congress leaders aim to cover several states before reaching the end-point in Srinagar.

Claim:

In the video, several men walk out of a restaurant. Some of these men stumble over a step of the restaurant. Towards the end of the video, Rahul Gandhi can be seen exiting the place and is greeted with applause.

Social media personality Rishi Bageree shared the video with the caption, "Intoxicated Inebriated Drunken Yatra."

A social media page, Befitting Facts, also circulated the video with the following claim, "Are they coming drunk at Bharat Jodo Yatra? Wait for Rahul Gandhi at the end."

The video is also viral on Facebook in Malayalam.

Fact Check:

The Logical India fact-check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. At the restaurant entrance, there is a step which makes some Congress leaders trip and stumbles, giving the misleading appearance of inebriation.

We used the keywords from the captions of the Malayalam viral video. We came across this video uploaded by a Facebook user on September 17, 2022.

The video's caption roughly translates to, "Here is Rahul Gandhi entering a tea shop to drink tea. Everyone is waiting outside to see Rahul ji. An unwell mother has travelled miles to see Rahul ji."

In the video, a woman states that Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders took a break from the yatra and stopped for a tea break. At the 17-second mark in the video, the restaurant's name, Hotel Malabar, is visible.

We conducted another keyword search across Facebook with this cue and came across this post by a Facebook user, Vinod Oachira. The user shared a photo of Gandhi eating at the Malabar Hotel in Oachira, Kollam in the post.

The post talks about how the hotel was established 75 years ago by a Congress supporter and it is how now it is being run by Ansar, the son of that founder. Kollam is a district in southern Kerala that Gandhi had already crossed in the yatra a week ago.

We then conducted a keyword search for the Malabar Hotel in Oachira, Kollam. We came across this restaurant on Google Maps and images from the interior of the restaurant. Comparing the visuals from the video and the image, we could observe that the floor matches the restaurant seen in the viral video.

We also found the live footage of Bharat Jodo Yatra telecast by Congress's official Twitter handle dated 17 September 2022. At 1:17:52 minutes of timestamp, one can see the Hotel Malabar, where Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders enter to have breakfast.

At the 1:42:00 minute mark, Rahul Gandhi can be seen resuming the yatra. He doesn't seem to be under any influence of inebriation, and other Congress leaders can also be seen walking steadily.

We also contacted Malabar hotel for more updates. While talking to The Logical Indian, Anzar, the manager of Malabar hotel said, "The viral claim is absolutely false. We don't have a bar, nor we serve alcohol here. The Congress leaders had only breakfast that day." He also shared the CCTV footage of that day with us along with some pictures of Rahul Gandhi and others leaders having food inside the hotel.

Conclusion:

In our Fact Check, we found that the restaurant is located in Oachira, Kollam. At the restaurant entrance, there is a step which makes some Congress leaders trip and stumble, giving the misleading appearance of inebriation. Afterwards, Gandhi does not have an unsteady walk. Malabar Hotel Manager, while talking to The Logical Indian, also denied the viral claim. Thus, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.

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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