Rahul Gandhi Didn't Pay Tribute To Swami Vivekanand Before Bharat Jodo Yatra? No, Smriti Irani's Claim Is False!

Congress party started 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' on September 07, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and many other party leaders. This yatra started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and will end in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. This Yatra will cover 11 states and two Union Territories in about five months. Meanwhile, a video of Union Minster Smriti Irani is going viral on social media.

In the viral video, she claimed that Rahul Gandhi started his Bharat Jodo Yatra without paying his respects to Swami Vivekananda at the Vivekananda Memorial located in Kanyakumari because Swami Vivekananda was not a member of the Gandhi family.

She gave this statement during the Janapandana program held in Doddaballapura, Bengaluru, on the completion of 3 years of BJP government in Karnataka. At 10:30 second of timestamp one can heard the viral statement.

Claim:

Rahul Gandhi started his Bharat Jodo Yatra without paying his respects to Swami Vivekananda located in Kanyakumari.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the claim and found it false. The Indian National Congress (INC) party's official social media handles shared a video of Rahul Gandhi paying tribute at Vivekananda Rock Memorial on September 7.

Several other political leaders associated with Congress shared videos of Gandhi, calling the statement of Smriti Irani false.

The official YouTube channel of the party 'Indian National Congress' shared the video of Rahul Gandhi on September 7. The clip is titled 'Shri Rahul Gandhi paid his respects at the Vivekananda Memorial earlier today,' wherein he can be seen circumambulating the statue of Swami Vivekananda at the memorial.

The official Twitter handle of Congress shared the same clip on September 7 and captioned it, "Shri @RahulGandhi paid his respects at the Vivekananda Memorial earlier today."

Further, another official Twitter handle of Congress, claiming to be the official media platform of INC, shared some more clips from Rahul Gandhi's visit to the memorial.

The handle called out Smriti Irani for her false statement and captioned the post in Hindi, "INC TV के कैमरे से देखिए स्मृति ईरानी के झूठ का पर्दाफाश...." (English translation- Watch with INC TV camera Smriti Irani's lie exposed...."

Further, the official Twitter handle of Congress for Bharat Jodo Yatra also shared posts from Rahul Gandhi's visit to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. The video shared on September 7 is captioned as, "Every step taken in the #BharatJodoYatra will reinforce Swami Vivekananda's teachings of universal brotherhood. It is only fitting that Shri @RahulGandhi & the Congress party seek his blessing before the launch."

While the other post from the same day where Gandhi is standing in front of the Swami Vivekanand statue is shared with one of his quotes that read, "They alone live, who live for others."

Srinivas BV, the National President of the Indian Youth Congress, shared a post that compares Smriti Irani's statement and Asia News International's (ANI) Twitter post of Rahul Gandhi circumambulating the statue of Swami Vivekananda at the memorial.

Srinivas captioned it in Hindi, "Chal Jhoothi... इतना 'Silly' झूठ बोलते हुए शर्म नही आती?" (English Translation- Liar.. Aren't you ashamed to lie so 'silly'?)

Conclusion:

It is evident from the visuals mentioned above that Rahul Gandhi visited the Vivekananda memorial on September 7 in Kanyakumari and paid his tributes to Swami Vivekananda before commencing the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'.

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Also Read: No, These Images Of Luxurious Motorhomes Are Not Rahul Gandhi's Accommodation During Bharat Jodo Yatra