Old video of Delhi CM Atishi apologising to people shared on social media as recent with false claim

New Delhi: A video of some people creating a ruckus during a public speech by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi was widely shared on social media, with users claiming it to be a recent incident in which Atishi raised the 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan miffed people from the Muslim community, following which she had to apologise to them.

The PTI Fact Check Desk found the claim to be false as a recent video dating back to March 2024, when Atishi was the Education Minister of Delhi, was shared on social media as recent. The incident relates to Atishi inadvertently mentioning the area as 'Khajuri Khas' instead of 'Shriram Colony' in her speech, due to which the people present there got angry.

A Facebook user named Ajit Kumar Sharma shared this video on September 28 and wrote, "When Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party minister Atishi Marlena went to Shri Ram Colony, as soon as she started her speech by saying Jai Shri Ram, the crowd of Muslims sitting there immediately got up and created a ruckus that why did you say Jai Shri Ram? Then what, Atishi Marlena immediately apologised."

The video has been shared across social media platforms with users claiming that the incident happened recently.

To check the veracity of the claim, the Desk first reverse-searched the keyframes of the video through Google Lens. We found the full video of the event, where the incident took place, on the official YouTube channel of the Directorate of Education, Delhi. This programme was broadcast live on YouTube on March 9, 2024.

The Desk looked at the video carefully and noticed that at 40:40 minutes, Atishi said, "If I have been most happy to inaugurate any one school, then it is to inaugurate this school in Khajuri Khas." On hearing 'Khajuri Khas,' the people present expressed displeasure. After a while, a person came on the stage and told Atishi that this school was in 'Shri Ram Colony', not 'Khajuri Khas'.

Correcting the mistake, Atishi apologised to the people and said, "I would like to apologise to the residents of Shriram Colony, the school in Shriram Colony, where children from Shriram Colony, Khajuri Khas, Karawal Nagar and Sonia Vihar will also study."

According to a report by ETV Bharat, the then Education Minister of Delhi, Atishi, inaugurated the newly built school building of two schools, Sarvodaya Kanya/Baal Vidyalaya built in Shriram Colony of North East Delhi, in March this year.

From PTI Fact Check Desk's investigation so far, it was clear that the then Education Minister of Delhi, Atishi, apologised after people expressed their displeasure on Atishi mentioning the area as 'Khajuri Khas' instead of 'Shriram Colony' in the school inauguration ceremony.