The country next door, is the country indulged in the most controversial matters with India. Recently, a video circulated on social media which claims that the Pakistani flag was waved at a rally of the Congress party in Tumkur, Karnataka. Several social media users, shared this on Facebook and the caption in Hindi to one such claim translates as, “It is far better to bear the extra cost of petrol rather than voting to a party that raises anti-India slogans and waves Pakistani flags in their rallies.”
Alongside the ongoing farmers’ protest in the country, the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel is another challenge faced by the citizens. After the Union Budget session 2021-22, the announcement was made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, “Consequently, unbranded petrol and diesel will attract basic excise duty of Rs 1.4, and Rs 1.8 per litre respectively. The SAED on unbranded petrol and diesel shall be Rs 11 and Rs 8 per litre respectively. Similar changes have also been made for branded petrol and diesel,” she added. The crowds are agitated after the fuel prices witnessed a hike for the 10th consecutive day on Thursday with the rate of petrol touching Rs 89.88 per litre in Delhi.
Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the claim is misleading, the green flag among the Congress flags seen in the viral image is not a Pakistani flag but the party flag of The Indian Union Muslim League ( IUML), a political party from Kerala. The image was taken during a political rally in North Belgaum before the Karnataka Assembly election in 2018. It was during the Karnataka Assembly election in 2018 that this video of the Congress rally had gone viral. As per a newspaper report, the Kerala-based IUML party had supported Congress in the Karnataka election. Hence, it is confirmed that it was not the Pakistani flag but a party flag of IUML that was waived during the Congress rally in Karnataka, 2018. The viral image is old and has nothing to do with the recent price hike and the political parties.
