According to a video clip making the rounds on social media, Congressman Rahul Gandhi was ‘foolishly’ seen shaking hands with a person with a disability during a public meeting where other Congressmen, including Priyanka Gandhi, K Sudhakaran, and K C Venugopal, were also present. People on social media circulated the video clip, calling Rahul Gandhi ‘insensitive’ for shaking hands with an ‘armless man’.
A user, @erbmjha, who is followed by PM Narendra Modi on Twitter, shared the clip with a claim, stating “This guy is the most problematically dimwitted person I’ve ever seen. Rahul Gandhi tried shaking hands with the physically disabled persons on the wheelchair without an arm… unbelievable!”
This guy is the most problematically dimwitted person I’ve ever seen.
— BALA (@erbmjha) April 11, 2023
Rahul Gandhi tried shaking hand with physically disabled person on the wheelchair without an arm… unbelievable!
pic.twitter.com/lL30mCAaPz
Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP’s IT division, posted the 9-second clip on Twitter and mocked Rahul Gandhi by calling him “insensitive.”.
Insensitivity is writ large all over… pic.twitter.com/EPfs0qEFmp
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 12, 2023
Fact Check
We Find the original video clip from Rahul Gandhi’s official YouTube channel, which was published on April 11. We did a quick keyword search on YouTube. The video, which was broadcast live from the public meeting of the Congress party held at Kalpetta in Wayanad, Kerala, is about an hour long. The Congress party’s official Twitter account shared the live video as well.
On Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will travel to the Wayanad district of Kerala for the first time since he was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha by a court in Gujarat last month. That court found Gandhi guilty of defamation and sentenced him to two years in prison for his actions. Gandhi was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Wayanad district in 2019.
It appeared that Rahul Gandhi was attempting to shake hands with a “armless” individual. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit the Wayanad region of Kerala, from whence he was elected to Parliament in 2019, on Tuesday.
According to Congress lawmaker T Siddique in the Kerala assembly, Gandhi will be doing a roadshow and speaking at a public meeting. He further said that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the general secretary of the Congress, and over 100,000 other individuals were planning to attend the event.
Protests broke out in Wayanad after the disqualification, and Siddique stated Rahul Gandhi’s rally will be a show of strength against the decision. He further said that members of the United Democratic Front, an opposition party in Kerala that is being led by the Congress, will be present at the roadshow. According to Siddique, they will be waving the national flag in place of party flags.
It’s a battle to restore the country’s longstanding commitment to democracy. The Wayanad festival will contribute to the rising energy across the country. Worker support for Rahul Gandhi will be pledged. It’s going to be a big deal,” he promised.
In conclusion, there are numerous false claims circulating on social media that Rahul Gandhi ‘insensitively’ shook hands with a man who had a disability during a public meeting in Wayanad, Kerala. When greeting Gandhi, the person first extended his right arm, as can be seen in the full video that was uploaded to Rahul Gandhi’s YouTube channel. Within the course of 30 seconds, the man can be seen reaching out to Gandhi twice.
