Fact Check: Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut's claims on response to 'Halla Bol' rally are FALSE
The “Halla Bol” rally was organized in Mumbai by Maha Vikas Aghadi on December 17. Hundreds of people joined the rally as the Uddhav Sena, Congress and NCP targeted BJP on various issues.
The "Halla Bol" rally was organized in Mumbai by Maha Vikas Aghadi on December 17. Hundreds of people joined the rally as the Uddhav Sena, Congress and NCP targeted BJP on various issues. (Read more here)
Soon after, BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis commented in response to the rally by calling it a 'nano morcha', implying poor turnout at the rally. (Read more here)
In response to this comment, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut shared a video on Twitter to show the turnout at the rally. The video showed several people marching over a flyover and was captioned, "This is what Devendra Fadnavis is calling Nano Morcha! The loud voice of the loving people of Maharashtra. Devendra ji.. this behavior is not good. Jai Maharashtra!" (Click here for archived tweet)
FACT CHECK:
The video shared by Sanjay Raut is not from the "Halla Bol" rally.
A reverse search led to finding the same video being shared on Facebook in August 2017. The video was shared in a Facebook group called "Maratha Kranti Morcha Maharashtra" and was captioned, "J J Flyover Mumbai, Maratha Sagar."
A keyword search helped find several news reports on the above mentioned morcha from August 2017 in Mumbai. Times of India's verified Twitter account, shared the same video in 2017. The caption states that the video is from a "Maratha Kranti Morcha" that took place over the JJ flyover in Mumbai. Upon comparison, it became clear that the video shared by the social media users is indeed old and not linked to the "Halla Bol" rally.
An article by Indian Express states that the Maratha Kranti Morcha was a silent protest that took place in Mumbai demanding reservation in jobs for the Maratha community. The protest began at Jijamata Udyan in Byculla and ended at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. A report by First Post states that the protest rally saw participation from nearly 3 lakh members of the Maratha community from across the state.
With this, it can be said that the claims made using the video about response to the rally is false.