Video doesn't show people waving Pakistan flag in Karnataka after Congress' poll win

Context

Congress emerged victorious in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly polls with 135 seats, defeating the BJP, which secured 66 seats, while the Janata Dal (Secular) clinched victory in 19 seats. After the poll results were announced on May 13, celebrations started across the southern state over Congress' success. People congratulated Congress and shared celebratory visuals.

One such video on social media claims that individuals in Bhatkal hoisted the Pakistan flag following the poll results.

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya shared the video on Twitter with the caption, "Bhatkal. Soon after Congress' victory in Karnataka...." In the video, people are seen waving various flags, including a green flag and a saffron flag.

Multiple users claimed that a Pakistani flag was raised in Bhatkal, while Malviya and several others shared the video with cryptic captions such as "Congress is yet to form a government. This is what we lost...."

In Fact

The viral video shows four flags hoisted at the top of a street circle.

Upon careful observation of the video, it is evident that the four flags consist of a saffron flag with 'Om' written on it, a Congress flag, a blue flag featuring Dr. BR Ambedkar's face, and a green flag, which was misidentified as the Pakistan flag.

To verify these claims, we compared the green flag in the video with the flag of Pakistan and concluded that the green flag in the video does not match the Pakistan flag.

On multiple occasions, people have misidentified Islamic flags as the Pakistani flag because of the similarity in color and design. However, the Pakistani flag features a specific design with a broad white border, a green body, and a crescent and a star. On the other hand, the Islamic flag is a more general representation of Islam and can have varying designs with a focus on the color green and Islamic symbols. In this instance, the flag seen in the video has a green background without any white border and a crescent and star in the center, setting it apart from the Pakistan flag. Such Islamic flags are also used in Muslim households or by Islamic organizations in India.

Logically Facts contacted Bhatkal's Deputy Superintendent of Police, who clarified that the claim was false and baseless.

He said, "SP sir has already issued a statement clarifying that the claim is wrong. No one hoisted a Pakistani flag at the Bhatkal Circle. People were celebrating the election victory and waving four flags - a saffron flag, a Congress party flag, a Dr. BR Ambedkar flag, and an Islamic religious flag. People use the green flag at their homes, and it is not a Pakistani flag."

The Verdict

A video of the Congress' election victory celebration in Bhatkal, Uttar Kannada, has been falsely shared to claim that the Pakistani flag was raised in the area. Contrary to the claims, the flag seen was not a Pakistani flag but an Islamic flag. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.