Fact Check: Did singer Ranjit Bawa criticise Bhagwant Mann in front of him with a song? Viral video tampered
India Today
A recent video that’s been widely shared online seems to suggest that one Punjabi singer criticised the government’s role in the spread of the narcotics epidemic.
“Sports is the best antidote to the drug menace. The youth must be encouraged to take up sports,” declared Punjab’s Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann while inaugurating the sporting event Khedan Watan Punjab Dian at the Guru Gobind Singh stadium in Jalandhar on August 29. Mann, like all Punjab politicians, has promised to tackle the narcotics epidemic in the state.
However, a recent video that’s been widely shared online seems to suggest that one Punjabi singer criticised the government’s role in the spread of this epidemic, right in front of the CM. The video supposedly shows Punjabi singer Ranjit Bawa singing his song “Chitta” — a street name for certain drugs — at an event where Mann and his wife were present.
The Punjabi song contains provocative lyrics such as, “The speaker of truth invites many enemies, the speaker of lies thrives. The government is the one that sells drugs, that’s why it’s everywhere.”
The text inside the video reads, “Bawa sang the song ‘Chitta’ in front of Mann. Madam Gurpreet (Mann’s wife, Dr. Gurpreet Kaur) seemed pleased with it.”
AFWA’s investigation found that the viral video has been tampered with. Bawa was performing the theme song he had composed for the event, not the song “Chitta”.
Searches led us to the full video of this performance. The viral section can be seen at the 4 minutes and 47 seconds mark. However, here Bawa and singer Amrit Mann were singing something else altogether. In fact, it was the theme song for the aforementioned Khedan Watan Punjab Dian event. The event featuring various block, district and state-level tournaments will be held from September 1 to October 21.
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