Did Delhi CM Atishi apologize for chanting 'Jai Shri Ram'? No, claim is false

What is the claim?

A viral video of Delhi Chief Minister Atishi is making the rounds on social media. The video depicts individuals wearing skull caps objecting as Atishi speaks, with claims that she apologized to Muslims offended by her use of the slogan "Jai Shri Ram" at the beginning of her speech.

A verified user on X (formerly Twitter), '@Vini__007,' with over 16,000 followers, shared the video with the caption, "When Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party Minister Atishi Marlena visited Shri Ram Colony and began her speech with 'Jai Shri Ram,' the Muslim crowd present there got angry and questioned why she said 'Jai Shri Ram.' Following this, Atishi Marlena immediately apologized." 

Similar claims have been made on Facebook as well, with archived versions available here, here, and here. This video also went viral in April 2024 with the same claim.

Screenshots of the viral posts. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the viral claim is false. The video is from March 2024, when Atishi, then Delhi’s education minister, apologized for mistakenly saying "Khajuri Khas" instead of "Shri Ram Colony" during a school inauguration speech after audience objections.

What we found

A longer version of the viral video with a similar claim was shared in April 2024. During Atishi's speech, some attendees pointed out that she was incorrectly naming the locality. They said, "Say Shri Ram Colony. This is a school of Shri Ram Colony. What is this Khajuri Khas? Nobody knows anything."

In response, Atishi can be heard stating, "I would like to apologize to the residents of Shri Ram Colony. (This is) the school of Shri Ram Colony; where children from Shri Ram Colony will study, children from Khajuri Khas will also study, children from Karawal Nagar will study, and children from Sonia Vihar will also study." This portion is absent from the now-viral video, and Atishi does not chant "Jai Shri Ram," as claimed in the viral posts.

We located the original video of Atishi’s speech, delivered at the school inauguration in March 2024. The speech was live-streamed on March 9 on the Directorate of Education’s YouTube channel (archived here). At the 32:10 mark, Atishi begins her speech with slogans such as "Bharat Mata ki Jai" (Long live Mother India), "Vande Mataram," and "Inquilab Zindabad." At no point does she chant "Jai Shri Ram."

In the video, at 41:15, after crowd objections, Atishi pauses to ask, "What happened, brother? Please sit down." A man approaches Atishi, hands her a note, and says, "This school is named after Shri Ram Colony. Not Khajuri Khas; just say Shri Ram Colony."

Atishi then addresses the crowd, saying, "I would like to apologize to the residents of Shri Ram Colony. This is a school for Shri Ram Colony, where children from Shri Ram Colony, Khajuri Khas, Karawal Nagar, and Sonia Vihar will all study."

We identified the individual handing Atishi the note as AAP councilor Mohammad Aamil Malik from Shri Ram Nagar. When contacted for clarification, he stated, “The school is named after Shri Ram Colony, but Atishi Ji was referring to it as Khajuri Khas, which people objected to. She later corrected it.” He confirmed that Atishi did not chant "Jai Shri Ram."

It is clear that Atishi apologized for mistakenly referring to the school by the wrong name, and she did not chant "Jai Shri Ram" at any point during her speech.

On March 9, 2024, Atishi inaugurated the Sarvodaya Kanya/Bal Vidyalaya in Shri Ram Colony, North-East Delhi. The Aam Aadmi Party issued a press release about this event, and Atishi shared photos from the inauguration on her X account (archived here).

Screenshots of the posts from Atishi’s X account with photos from her inauguration of the school. (Source: @ AtishiAAP/X)

The verdict

Our investigation confirms that Atishi apologized for mistakenly referring to Shri Ram Colony as Khajuri Khas during her speech. The claim that she apologized for chanting "Jai Shri Ram" is false.

(Translated by Vanita Ganesh)