Viral Video Wrongly Accuses J.P. Nadda of Eating and offering Gutkha to Gadkari on the Stage
On June 12, the oath ceremony of the newly elected Telugu Desam Party leader N. Chandrababu Naidu and his cabinet happened in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Many high-profile dignitaries such as PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, several members of the Union Cabinet, Actor Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi and more attended the event to witness Naidu take oath as the new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
A clip from the event is going viral which shows BJP Chief and Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda eating something from a can which is being claimed as gutka. He is also seen sharing it with Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.
Is JP Nadda chewing Gutka??
He is INDIA’s new Health Minister 👀pic.twitter.com/G3Mh0KK2iY
— Dhruv Rathee (Parody) (@dhruvrahtee) June 12, 2024
ये है आपके Health Minister
जो सारे आम गुटका खा रहे है 🥴🤦pic.twitter.com/HZbddmL6LN
— Ars Lan (@MrarslanX_) June 12, 2024
Several accounts claiming J.P. Nadda consuming gutka in the viral video raised concern on how a health minister could be seen eating unhealthy gutka. Sakshi Gupta, District President of AAP Womenn Wing Delhi, also shared the video on X (formerly Twitter).
केंद्रीय स्वास्थ्य मंत्री जे पी नड्डा जी ने गुटखा खाकर देश को तम्बाक़ू मुक्त बनाने का संकल्प लिया।
गडकरी जी को भी इस अभियान् मे जोड़ा। pic.twitter.com/2HbjH5w7Ns
— Sakshi Gupta AAP (@SakshiGupta_AAP) June 12, 2024
Truth
On viewing the clearer clip of the viral video, it can be seen that J.P. Nadda is actually consuming Yogi Kanthika which are Ayurvedic pills for Throat Relief.
On inspection of the video by CNN-News18, we found the viral clip at 4:33:51 which shows the Health Minister consuming something from the can.
On zooming in, we found that the can resembles the packaging of Yogi Kanthika, and is not of any gutka brand. The colours and the flap-like opening match with the original packaging of Yogi Kanthika.
On closer look, Gadkari’s action of picking the substance from Nadda’s palm seems like he’s picking the small spherical pills of Yogi Kanthika and not gutka powder.