Video of Andhra Pradesh health minister shared with a false claim

What is the claim?

A video of a woman visiting what appears to be a mosque and addressing members of the Muslim community is being shared online with the claim that it shows Nikita Singh, a 'sub-divisional magistrate in Chhattisgarh' at the gathering. The video of the woman, which starts with her getting out of a car and then interacting with men who can be seen performing namaz, has been shared on social media platforms with captions in Hindi saying, "A message of love in this hate-filled environment: Chhattisgarh's dear SDM Nikita Singh gave land for a mosque and also offered namaz at that place. The beauty of our country is right here. Thank you SDM Nikita ji (sic)." Archived versions of such posts can be found here, here, and here.

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

What are the facts? 

Through reverse image search, we found that the woman in the video is not a government official from Chhattisgarh but a minister in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Vidadala Rajini. We found the original video on Rajini's social media accounts. Rajini is the Andhra Pradesh Minister of Health, Family Welfare, and Medical Education. She belongs to the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP)  and, in the upcoming state elections, has been nominated as the candidate from the Guntur West constituency. 

On April 6, Rajini posted the now-viral video on her Instagram account (archived here) and her Facebook account (archived here) account with the Telugu caption, "We stand by Muslims and minorities (translated)."

Taking a clue from the hashtags "#ManathoManaRajinamma #YSRCongressPartyGunturWest #iftar" mentioned in her caption, we found a video report published by Telugu news outlet 4th TV News (archived here) on YouTube on April 9, which included the viral clip. The video reads: "Vidadala Rajini Attends Iftar Party." Around the 0:54 mark, we can see the visuals seen in the now-viral video. 

Rajini's Instagram post (archived here) from April 5 also shows she attended iftar dinners organized in Nagarampalem, Pattabhipuram, and Gujjanagundla. We can see that she is wearing the same outfit as seen in the viral video. 

Additionally, we found that Rajini had attended multiple events, like the birthday celebrations of politician Babu Jagajivan Ram and special prayers conducted under the guidance of Vidyanagar Prabhu Sanidhi Ministries. 

The above reports mention Rajini was campaigning for the upcoming assembly elections scheduled to be held in Andhra Pradesh on May 13, alongside the Lok Sabha elections. 

Our research also showed that there is no evidence to support the claim that she gave land for mosques.

Who is 'Chhattisgarh SDM Nikita Singh?'

We did not come across any news reports or government documents mentioning one Nikita Singh working as a sub-divisional magistrate or a top bureaucrat in Chhattisgarh. The state website also did not throw up any indication suggesting a high-ranking official working with the same name in Chattisgarh.  

The verdict 

The video shows Andhra Pradesh Minister Vidadala Rajini campaigning ahead of the upcoming state elections. The woman in the video is not a Chattisgarh government official. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.