CLAIMA video in which Rahul Gandhi can be relishing chicken leg-piece at a restaurant is being circulated on social media with the claim that the Congress leader is consuming non-vegetarian food in the auspicious month of Sawan.
The clip has Gandhi sharing space with food journalist and television personality Kunal Vijaykar.
Those sharing the clip are mocking Gandhi’s claim of being a ‘brahmin’.
“In the holy month of Sawan, a self-proclaimed Dattatreya Brahmin is eating a chicken leg-piece,” read one such tweet accompanying the video.
For the unversed, the Sawan month, also known as Shravan month, is considered auspicious among Hindus. It begins on July 4, 2023 and stretches up to two months due to Adhik Maas Shravan. Devotees worship Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati with devotion and observe fasts on every Somwar. Unmarried females observe Mangla Gauri Vrat and some also observe solah somwar vrat to seek blessings from Lord Shiva. Kanwar Yatra, where devotees bring Gangajal from sacred places, is also popular.
TRUTHIt is an old video and wasn’t shot in the period of Sawan. It was published on several YouTube channels in April, 2023.
VERIFICATION AND METHODOLOGYUsing relevant keywords like ‘Kunal Vijayakar Rahul Gandhi’, we ran a Google search and traced several videos showing the same visuals posted in the month of April 2023.
One such video was posted on Gandhi’s official YouTube channel.
Titled ‘Dilli Mein Chole Bhature Aur Mohabbat Ka Sharbat | Rahul Gandhi | Interaction with Kunal Vijayakar’, and published on April 22, 2023, one can see the same visuals in the video from 12:42.
It is clear that the video was recorded before the month of Sawan and doesn’t show Gandhi consuming chicken during the holy month.
Times of India reported about it on April 19, 2023.
VERDICTTimes Fact Check has found that a video from April 2023 has resurfaced and is being peddled with the false claim that Rahul Gandhi is eating chicken during the month of Sawan.