Fact Check: Victory celebrations at Congress HQ? Old video of Rahul Gandhi meeting workers linked to LS election results

CLAIM

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi greeting the Congress workers celebrating at the party headquarters ahead of the Lok Sabha Poll results.

Such posts can be seen here, here and here.

FACT

A Google lens search on the keyframes of the viral video led us to an X post by Srinivas BV, the National President of Indian Youth Congress, dated August 4, 2023. The post featured the widely circulated footage of Rahul Gandhi, and stated "Welcome Back, Leader".

Proclaiming the "victory of truth over falsehood," the official X handle of the Indian National Congress also shared the viral footage in August 2023.

What Was Congress Celebrating?

The Supreme Court stayed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's conviction in the 2019 "Modi surname" remark defamation case on August 4, 2023, paving the way for his return to the Parliament. Celebrations erupted at the Congress party's headquarters following the apex court's judgement.

A lawsuit was filed against the Congress leader over his remarks on "Modi" surname during a rally in 2019. In March 2023, a Surat Court convicted Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case, and sentenced him to two-year-imprisonment.

Following the conviction, the former Congress chief was disqualified from parliament. Gandhi then approached the Gujarat High Court against the lower court's judgement, but his plea was rejected. The Supreme Court, however, then stayed his conviction in the case.

We could thus conclude that the video showing Congress workers celebrating the Supreme Court's judgement staying Rahul Gandhi's conviction has been misleadingly shared to show festivities at the party's headquarters prior to the announcement of Lok Sabha Poll results.

Disclaimer: This story was originally published by Newschecker, and republished by HT Digital as part of the Shakti Collective.