Venugopal made no statement on ending quota; fake newspaper screenshot shared on social media

New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI Fact Check) A screenshot of a Hindi newspaper was shared on social media, claiming that Congress general secretary K C Venugopal made a statement about ending reservation.

Social media users shared the newspaper screenshot to target the Congress party.

PTI Fact Check Desk's investigation revealed that Venugopal did not make any such statement about ending reservation. Congress general secretary Dr Vineet Punia also called the claim fake.

A user on social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter) shared a screenshot of a newspaper, which allegedly contained a statement from Venugopal about ending reservation.

The user wrote, "Congress is the root of unrest and casteism in the country. As long as Congress exists, attacks on reservations will continue. If Congress is destroyed, reservations will thrive." This screenshot was shared on social media.

To verify the claim, the Desk carefully examined the newspaper screenshot. The newspaper was labeled "Aapki Awaaz". Upon searching, we did not find any credible newspaper by this name.

Continuing the investigation, the Desk tried to find media reports related to the alleged statement by the Congress general secretary. However, we did not find any credible media report related to any such statement.

At the end of the investigation, the Desk contacted Congress general secretary Dr Vineet Punia. He called the viral claim fake, saying, "Our leader did not make any such statement. This is false propaganda by our political opponents." PTI Fact Check's investigation so far makes it clear that the newspaper screenshot related to the anti-reservation statement attributed to the Congress general secretary is fake and edited.

Read the full fact-check here: https://bit.ly/3zrtnWN For verification or truth of any claim viral on social media, contact PTI Fact Check Desk's WhatsApp number +91-8130503759. PTI TEAM AS