Congress' security guard didn't escort Samajwadi Party worker off stage in Uttar Pradesh

What’s the claim

Amid the ongoing general elections in India, a video showing an individual in a white kurta, black jacket, and red hat being escorted offstage by several people, including a security guard, is circulating online. The video is being shared to claim that a security guard employed by Congress removed a Samajwadi Party (SP) worker from an event in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao. 

Rishi Bagree, known for spreading online misinformation, shared the video on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, “Samajwadi party workers were thrown out of stage by Congress security guard in Unnao.” The post was viewed more than 279,000 times at the time of writing this story. Another user shared the video, mocking the opposition INDIA alliance, of which Congress and SP are both members, for purportedly turning against each other. Archived versions of such posts can be found here and here.

Screenshot of claims made online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false. The video was unrelated to Congress and the person escorting the SP supporter off stage was not a Congress-employed guard. 

What we found

On closer examination of the viral video, we noticed a large red poster with pictures of Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, party leader Dimple Yadav, the party’s Lok Sabha candidate Annu Tandon, as well as the party’s election symbol, a bicycle, on it.

Comparison between the viral video and the April 24, SP event. (Source: X/ YouTube/ Bharat Samachar)

Taking a cue from this, we found that the video originated from an April 24 gathering where Member of Parliament Dimple Yadav, Yadav’s wife, addressed a public rally in support of Tandon’s nomination from Unnao. A local news network from Uttar Pradesh, Bharat Samachar published a video of the event (archive here) on their official YouTube channel on April 24. 

The backdrop of the stage seen in the YouTube video matches the visuals of the red poster seen in the viral video.

We also found another video of the same event published by Amar Ujala Uttar Pradesh (archive here), shared on YouTube with a Hindi title that translates to: "Dimple Yadav LIVE Unnao: Dimple Yadav reached Unnao, fiercely targeted the central government! , Lok Sabha." 

This shows visuals of the MP speaking on the same stage and holding a roadshow. The video also captured the incident where the SP worker was escorted off stage by the security guard. This live stream, at the 3:22:56 mark, shows Dimple Yadav holding a photo-op on stage, surrounded by several party leaders, who is watched over by the same security guard. At this time, the individual seen in the viral video tries to approach her, and is subsequently led away.

What local reporters told Logically Facts

Logically Facts reached out to a local reporter in Unnao, Jitendra Mishra, who confirmed that the individual was a supporter of the SP, seeking to meet Dimple Yadav. However, Yadav's security personnel prevented the person from meeting her. Mishra also confirmed that the event was solely organized by SP and bore no connection to the Congress.

Another local reporter, Praveen, also confirmed the same. “A person who is not even a member of SP tried to meet Dimple Yadav but was turned away by her security personnel. The incident has nothing to do with the Congress party,” he told Logically Facts.

The SP is in an alliance with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh; the former is contesting 63 seats in the general elections while the latter will be in the fray for 17 seats. Congress is not contesting elections from Unnao , which will be voting on May 13 in the ongoing national elections.

Evidence suggests that the video was shared to disparage the SP-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh. The allegations surrounding the video’s content are baseless.

The verdict

In contrast to claims on social media, the video does not show a SP worker being escorted off stage by a Congress security guard. The event in Unnao was organized by fellow party members and had no involvement from the Congress. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.