Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma posts poor conditions of the roads, falsely claiming the video taken before Modi Goverment
Factually Incorrect Videos Included in Post Shared by Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
The Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma shared a post on his social media platforms, bringing attention to the road development in Assam under Modi government. The video posted by him includes videos claimed to be about the conditions of the roads in Assam before the Modi government era, followed by videos showing the road development projects taken later on under the governance of BJP.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/425990996794916
Assam’s roads – Before and after Modi Government 🪷 pic.twitter.com/baIwad7Vxc
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (Modi Ka Parivar) (@himantabiswa) April 25, 2024
Truth
On research, certain aspects of the video were revealed which may indicate the false nature of the before-after scenarios shown in the video posted by the Assam CM. We paid attention to several details and cues available in the video, which we have explained thoroughly in this article. The main factor that possibly discloses the factual incorrectness of this video lies in the fact that the cues found may be from the time when BJP was heading the governance and not from the time when BJP was not in power in Assam.
New car model seen in the ‘before’ video
As noticed in the ‘Assam roads then’ part of the video, a specific car is shown clearly, driving through rugged roads with clogged holes and pathetic conditions.
However, it is evident that the model of the car shown in the video is Hyundai’s Grand i10 NIOS launched in January, 2023. BJP has been in power in the centre since 2014 and in Assam since 2016. Therefore, the claim that this video, containing a latest car model, is from the pre-BJP period is false.
You can see the difference of the car model here –
Car registrations indicate difference in time
In the part indicating the conditions of the roads before Modi government, several cars with their number plates can be seen. Firstly, we flipped the images and tried to get a clear look at the number plates of the cars in the video. We checked the registration details of the cars whose number plates were fairly visible through vahan.parivahan.gov.in and here are the details we could find:
1. On checking the number plate, it may be stated that the car shown in the picture below had been registered in February 2018 as per the details received on the Vahan platform.
This would hence indicate that the video shown in the video is not from a time before Modi government as it is being claimed to in the post.
2. Another vehicle in the video has similar situation as the possible number plate details found show registration date of 2018.
3. The number plate of one more car that was seen in the video could not be clearly identified, but the possible details that may be associated with the car also show a registration in the time when BJP was in power, showing the contrast to the claims.
These cues together indicate a possible usage of latest clips in the ‘before’ description of the road development in Assam instead of old ones before BJP was ruling. Thus, the claims made may stand incorrect owing to the above cues found.