Recently, a video has surfaced on social media showing a group of protesters with saffron flags chanting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and calling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government a thief.

A Twitter user shared the video with the caption saying, "Now BJP's Bajrang Dal has come together with the farmers."

The video is also doing rounds on Facebook with the same caption in Hindi. 

The truth behind the claim 

In our investigation, we found this claim to be false. The viral clip is not from a protest by the Bajrang Dal in Uttar Pradesh but against a fuel price hike organized by Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Bangar in Hingoli, Maharashtra.

On carefully analyzing the video, one can hear slogans against the fuel prices hike across India. Taking a hint from this, we performed a reverse image search and found this video uploaded on a YouTube channel on February 5. According to the description of the video, it is shows protests against fuel price hikes organized by Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Bangur in the Hingoli district of Maharashtra. The video was uploaded by another YouTube channel with the same description.

We also found an article on the online edition of the Marathi daily “Sakal” carrying a similar image. As per the report, the image is of a bullock cart march held on February 5 by the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district against the recent fuel price hike. The rally, led by Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Bangar, began from the party office and marched via Indira Gandhi Chowk in Hingoli, adds the report.

According to a report by “Outlook”, on February 5, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena held protests in several parts of Maharashtra against the Centre over the fuel price hike.

Moreover, we did not find any report stating that Bajrang Dal supported the ongoing farmers’ protest.

In conclusion, a video from Shiv Sena's protest against the increasing fuel prices is being widely shared with a false claim that it shows Bajrang Dal's support for the ongoing farmers' protest.