Did Ashwini Choubey tear up while taking about farmers? Misleading claim by NDTV

Farmers in Buxar have been protesting for the last 84 days demanding proper compensation for the acquisition of their land for a power plant. There were reports of police personnel entering protesting farmers’ homes in the middle of the night and thrashing them. Angered by this, protesters allegedly torched police vehicles. Police officers had to fire in the air to disperse the demonstrators.

The following day, Union minister and BJP leader Ashwini Choubey arrived in Chausa, facing the wrath of the aggrieved farmers. In fact, he decided to leave the meeting altogether once the protesters began raising slogans against him. Later, the leader kept a silent vow and fast in protest of the atrocities on farmers at Ambedkar Chowk in Buxar. He accused individuals associated with the Bhim Army of attacking him during this dharna. BJP leader Parshuram Chaturvedi suffered a heart attack and died while entering Buxar’s Bhagat Singh Park during the protest march organized to call for arrests of the accused responsible for the same attack.

Against this backdrop, a video of BJP leader and MP Ashwini Choubey crying during a press conference is making the rounds on social media. It has been claimed that the senior leader broke into tears while talking about farmers.

NDTV tweeted the video with the accompanying claim. (Archived link)

बिहार: किसानों की बात करते हुए फफक-फफक कर रो पड़े केंद्रीय मंत्री अश्विनी चौबे, कहा- बहुत दुखी हूं pic.twitter.com/JtRI1LgP8j

— NDTV India (@ndtvindia) January 16, 2023

Journalist Prabhakar Kumar Mishra quote-tweeted NDTV’s post and wrote, “I’m feeling overwhelmed seeing this union minister shedding tears for farmers!” (Archived link)

किसानों के लिए केंद्रीय मंत्री के इन आँसुओं को देखकर सीना छलनी हो रहा है! #Farmersprotest https://t.co/QSJWEresD7

— Prabhakar Kr Mishra (@PMishra_Journo) January 16, 2023

Jagran journalist Vineet Tripathi also quote-tweeted the video shared by NDTV. He added that farmers were in such dire straits since the opposition was not doing its work properly, so much so that it moved a Union minister to tears. (Archived link)

यकीनन विपक्ष अच्छे से काम नहीं कर रहा है वरना किसानों की ये हालत नहीं होती और एक केंद्रीय मंत्री को रोना नहीं पड़ता https://t.co/yZPwKIieQe

— Vineet Tripathi (@VineetTripathi_) January 17, 2023

Fact Check

We searched for the video of Ashwini Choubey’s press conference on YouTube, and found it on the Live Cities YouTube channel. Here, the leader announces that BJP leader Parshuram Chaturvedi, who worked continuously by his side for several days in this movement, died due to a heart attack. He breaks down in tears while discussing Chaturvedi’s death.

Alt News also found several news reports which clearly state that Choubey received the news of her close friend Parshuram Chaturvedi’s death due to a heart attack during the press conference itself. Aaj Tak also tweeted a video in which it has been told that Ashwini Choubey started crying during a press conference after hearing the news of BJP leader Parshuram Chaturvedi’s death.

केंद्रीय मंत्री अश्विनी चौबे प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस के दौरान फूट-फूट कर रोने लगे. दरअसल बीजेपी नेता परशुराम चतुर्वेदी के निधन की खबर सुनकर अश्विनी चौबे अपने आंसू नहीं रोक पाए.#ATDigital #AshwiniChaubey #ParshuramChaturvedi #BJP pic.twitter.com/hPzksrOygY

— AajTak (@aajtak) January 17, 2023

To sum it up, Ashwini Choubey became emotional and began weeping inconsolably during a press conference after receiving the news of the demise of fellow BJP leader and close friend Parshuram Chaturvedi. Although the press conference covered topics like the Ramcharit Manas and AIIMS, the primary focus was on farmers’ issues. Hence, the viral clip from the press conference was being circulated with the misleading claim that Union minister Ashwini Choubey broke into tears while talking about farmers.

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