Did Rajnath Singh support gangster Lawrence Bishnoi? No, the viral video is old and edited

What is the claim?

A 15 second clip of Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is doing the rounds on social media, claiming he has “protection assured” for gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

In the video, Singh speaks in Hindi, stating (translated): “As the Defense Minister, I can say with confidence that you are forgetting about revoking his citizenship. No one will be able to touch it even with a finger; I can fully assure you.”

Overlaying the clip is Hindi text that translates to “Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. No one can even touch Lawrence Bishnoi with a finger. Order of the Ministry of Defense.”

This viral clip was shared on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram with similar claims. Archived links to these posts can be found Here, Hereand Here.

The claims came in the wake of the killing of Indian politician Baba Siddique, the 66-year-old leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), who was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra, Mumbai on 12 October 2024. Members the Bishnoi gang, linked to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, have alleged responsibility for the crime.

However, our investigation revealed that the viral clip is old and unrelated to Bishnoi. The original video shows Singh assuring citizenship to the Muslim population amid unrest over the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA) dispute.

What did I find?

A Google search revealed an extended version of video (archived Here), streamed live on Singh’s official YouTube channel on 29 January 2020. The video, titled “RM Shri Rajnath Singh addresses a public meeting in Adarsh ​​Nagar, Delhi”, was record ahead of the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections.

At 46:35 of the full video, Singh is discussing citizenship for the Muslim population, not protection for the Bishnoi. He states, “I have said this many times to my Muslim brothers. I say it repeatedly. Vote for me or not, that is your decision, but please do not suspect our (Bharatiya Janata Party) integrity. Every Muslim Citizen of India: As the Defense Minister of Bharat, I assure you that every Muslim is a citizen of this country. Forget about the termination of his citizenship; I assure you that no one will be able to touch them.”

Singh was referring to CAApassed by the Government of India in December 2019. This law provides a fast-track path to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan—Muslim-majority countries—which entered the India on or before December 31, 2014. This led to the spread protests across the country, criticizing the Act for excluding Muslims from these neighboring countries, which has caused concern among India’s Muslim population about the potential loss of citizenship.

The same clip was also published by the press agency ANI Bharat (archived Here) on 29 January 2020. A review of the video confirms that at the 0:32 mark, Singh reiterates his assurance of citizenship to the Muslim population, further validating that he was referring to the Muslim community, not the Bishnoi.

verdict

A four-year-old video of Rajnath Singh speaking in support of citizenship for the Muslim population has been defaced, falsely claiming that the Indian defense minister supported gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

This report first appeared on logicalfacts.com and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Other than the title, no changes have been made to the ABP Live report.