Edited video shared to claim Yogi Adityanath questioned Narendra Modi over 'mangalsutra' remark

What is the claim?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark on the 'mangalsutra' (auspicious thread or chain worn by Hindu women around their necks after marriage) during an election rally in Rajasthan on April 21, 2024, triggered controversy a few days ago. Modi had said if Congress wins the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India, it would "distribute the wealth to Muslims" and alleged that they would "snatch people's belongings" and even "take the mangalsutra off women" and hand it over to Muslims. Many Congress members as well as opposition leaders had criticized Modi's 'mangalsutra' remark. 

Following this, a video of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been shared online, where we can hear him saying, "Brothers and sisters, even we want to ask Modiji, what happened to the mangalsutra of the widows of the martyrs of the Pulwama attack? And what about the mangalsutra of the wives of youth's families (translated from Hindi)?"

A user shared this video (archived here) with the caption that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has also questioned Modi and asked, "What about the mangalsutra of the wives of the brave soldiers of Pulwama who were martyred." Here, Pulwama refers to the February 2019 attack on the convoy of soldiers by a suicide bomber in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, in which 40 Indian soldiers were killed.

Viral video of Yogi Adityanath circulating online. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the video of Yogi Adityanath has been edited. The original video shows Yogi Adityanath quoting the statement of an opposition leader, Dimple Yadav. 

Here are the facts

Through a reverse image search, we found the original video uploaded on the YouTube channel of the news agency ANI on April 25, 2024. Yogi Adityanath was addressing an election rally in Uttar Pradesh. At the 14:40 timestamp, we can hear Adityanath saying, "A Samajwadi party leader has made a statement asking Prime Minister Modi what happened to the 'mangalsutra' of widows of those soldiers who lost their lives in Pulwama. Brothers and Sisters, I want to ask that leader of the Samajwadi party, what has happened to the widows and their 'Mangalsutra' of the youths, of the 'Ram bhakts' whose bloods were shed by the Samajwadi Party government in Ayodhya."

According to an India Today report, Yogi Adityanath was referring to the November 1990 firing incident where the police opened fire at volunteers of the Ram Janmnabhoomi movement, which led to the deaths of many volunteers, who were reportedly heading to demolish the Babri Masjid. The firing was ordered by then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The News Nation YouTube channel also shared the longer video of Yogi Adityanath, and the beginning of the now-viral video can be seen at the timestamp of 1:38 seconds. A comparison shows that in the viral video, some words have been edited out — especially where Adityanath can be heard saying that a Samajwadi leader has made such a statement.

According to India Today, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Dimple Yadav, on April 24, 2024, questioned Modi's remark on the mangalsutra, stating that "the central government has not been able to find out the cause behind the 2019 Pulwama attack, which left the widows of soldiers bereft of their mangalsutra." Yogi Adityanath quoted her statement on the April 25, 2024 rally to counter question her about the 1990 incident. 

Dimple Yadav is the daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav and is contesting the Lok Sabha elections on a Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket from the Mainpuri constituency, which is a stronghold of the SP. The BJP has fielded Jaiveer Singh against her, NDTV reports.

The verdict 

A video of Yogi Adityanat quoting Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav's statement has been selectively edited to claim he questioned the Prime Minister. Therefore, we mark this claim as misleading.