Lighthouse Journalism found a clip being circulated on social media featuring the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat. In the video Dr Mohan Bhagwat in this eight second video was seen saying, RSS is against reservation but we cannot talk about it outside. During the investigation we found the claim to be false. In the longer version of the video he is seen saying how the statement is false.
Claim:
X user A.K. Stalin shared the video along with the viral claim.
Check the archive version of the post here.
Other users too are sharing this video clip.
Investigation:
If RSS chief had made this statement there would definitely be news reports about the same. However, we did not find any news reports about the same.
We then did a Google keyword search with the terms, “RSS chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat on reservations”.
This led us to a video uploaded on the YouTube channel of The Print.
The video was uplaoded 2 weeks ago, which was a longer version of the statement going viral.
The description said: Speaking in Hyderabad, Telangana, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that the Sangh has been supporting reservations as per the Constitution since the beginning. He added that the RSS is not against reservations and dispelled rumours arising out of a video which said that the organisation is against reservations.
At 18 seconds in the video, he calls out the rumours. The video has been clipped before 18 seconds.
We also found the original version of the video on the X handle of ANI.
The caption says: Hyderabad, Telangana: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says, “A video is being circulated that RSS is against reservation and we cannot speak about this outside. Now this is completely false. The Sangh has been supporting all reservations as per the Constitution since the beginning…”
Conclusion: RSS chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat did not say RSS is against reservations, clipped video goes viral. Viral claims are false.
