India Today anchor Rahul Kanwal broadcasted a series of sting operations while investigating the violence at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on January 5. After that, a video of Rahul Kanwal is getting viral on social media in which he can be heard saying that raising the slogan of Vande Mataram is anti-national. 

BJP Mumbai spokesperson Suresh Nakhua posted the same 19 seconds long video using a caption "So, Rahul Kanwal of IndiaToday says " Chanting Vande Mataram is anti-national". Now let's see how Rahul spins this one."

The viral video recived 57400 views and 4,479 retweets at the time of writing this article

National Media In-Charge and In-Charge of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh at Bharatiya Janata Party (Youth Wing) BJYM  Rohit Chahal posted  the same video with a caption "According to Rahul Kanwal singing Vande Mataram is Anti National activity !"

The viral video received 767 views, 260 likes and 94 retweets at the time of writing this article. You can watch the viral video here:

A trimmed version of a longer statement 

In the investigation, we found that the viral video of Rahul Kanwal in which he is saying chanting Vande Mataram is anti-national is a trimmed version of a longer video, which is now being used to spread a false claim.

Rahul Kanwal responded to the viral claim on twitter himself and shares the entire clip with the right context "Here’s what happened. IndiaToday SIT exposed lawyers who accepted on camera they bashed up Kanhaiya in court while cops watched. Lawyers attacking Kanhaiya chanted Vande Mataram. To attack someone and chant Vande Mataram is anti-national. Said it then, will say it now. Jai Hind.

We also found a long version of the viral video with the help of the Invid tool, which was uploaded on YouTube on 14 February 2014 by India Today. The title of this video reads, "Hooliganism of unregistered lawyers outside Patiala House Court." According to the description of this video, groups of unruly lawyers again showed hooliganism outside Patiala Court, JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar attacked. The excerpt from the clipped video starts at 13:50.

According to this video, Rahul Kanwal was conducting a discussion where Supreme Court advocate Rajiv Yadav was one of the guests involved in the discussion. In 2016, while the Supreme Court was hearing a JNU Sedition petition, Rajiv Yadav raised slogans of 'Vande Mataram' inside the court, after which Rajiv Yadav was taken out by the security officials and he was asked to do his duty. He had to apologize before the Supreme Court.

Advocate Rajiv Yadav defended his slogan-raising act during a India Today TV debate, believing that the lawyer defending Kanhaiya Kumar, the former president of JNUSU, represented a "traitor"

To which Kanwal responded "But for this reason, there are judges. A judge will decide which issue is right, which lawyer is wrong. You argue in court. You can argue with Prashant Bhushan in court. Why are you shouting slogans like this? Why are you doing anti-national activity? Why are you doing anti-law activity? I alleged that what you have done is anti-national. You raised slogans of Vande Mataram, this is anti-national activity. "

"Putting such slogans inside the court degrades the dignity of the court, this is completely wrong. It hurts the dignity of the country. Your work is completely wrong. "

Taking out a 20-second clip from the entire discussion, Rahul Kanwal was depicted as calling the people of 'Vande Mataram' anti-national. Whereas in reality, he was suggesting that sloganeering inside a court is an unacceptable act. 

Conclusion, Journalist Rahul Kanwal did not say that chanting 'Vande Mataram' is anti-national. Rather, he was suggesting that raising such slogans in the court of law is anti-national. The viral video has been trimmed version of a longer statement is being used to spread a false claim and to mislead people.