Fact Check: Truth Behind BJP Leader's Remarks Against People From UP, Bihar

Amid rising political temperature in the national capital ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, a screenshot of an alleged Hindi newspaper report surfaced on social media. The report purportedly quoted BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri as saying that people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar should be driven out of Delhi. However, an investigation by PTI Fact Check revealed that the screenshot of the news report was fabricated and was shared on social media with a false claim.

Notably, the screenshot has been going viral since 2018. Back then too, Bidhuri had refuted the claim, stating that the statement was falsely attributed to him. Bidhuri is contesting from Kalkaji assembly seat, and faces a three-way contest from Delhi Chief Minister and AAP candidate Atishi, and Congress leader Alka Lamba.

Claim

An X (formerly Twitter) user going by the name 'Ravish Kumar Parody' shared on January 10 a purported screenshot of a news report claiming that BJP candidate from Kalkaji constituency, Ramesh Bidhuri, said the people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar should be driven out of Delhi. The post gained more than 20k views so far.

Here is the link and an archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same:

Investigation:

The Desk conducted a customised keyword search on Google and found that similar claims were shared by several other social media users. Two such posts can be seen here and here, and its archive versions can be found here and here, respectively. 

On further investigation, the Desk conducted a customised keyword search on Google but didn't find any news report, substantiating the viral claim.

However, the search results led us to an X post by Bidhuri, dated October 13, 2018, in which he clarified that the alleged remarks against the people of UP and Bihar were falsely attributed to him.

Here is the link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same: 

Back then, the Delhi BJP unit had also shared an X post on October 13, 2018, stating that the statement attributed to Bidhuri was entirely false and baseless.

"The statement is being spread by those who want to divide society for their politics as part of a well-planned conspiracy. It has no connection with BJP or any of its leaders," the BJP Delhi unit said.

Here is a link to the post and below is a screenshot of the same: 

In the next part of the investigation, the Desk contacted Bidhuri for his response on the viral claim, who refuted the screenshot as "fake". 

"This is fake news spread by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on social media. The same news clip was used by AAP leaders in previous elections to malign my image. However, I am in direct touch with the people of my constituency, and they know it's fake," the BJP leader told PTI Fact Check Desk.

Subsequently, the Desk concluded that the viral screenshot was fake

CLAIM
BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri said that people from UP and Bihar should be driven out of Delhi.

FACT
Ramesh Bidhuri did not make the remark. The viral newspaper clipping is fake.

CONCLUSION
Multiple social media users shared a newspaper clipping, which quoted BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri saying that people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar should be driven out of Delhi. In its investigation, the Desk found that a fake screenshot was shared on social media to falsely attribute a remark to Bidhuri.

(This story was originally published by Press Trust Of India, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)