Indian politician called to scrap affirmative action for Muslims, not lower castes

As Indians voted in national elections, Facebook posts shared a doctored video that appeared to show interior minister Amit Shah vowing to end affirmative action policies for millions of poor and low-caste citizens. The footage was edited from an April 2023 speech in which Shah in fact pledged to scrap the policy for Muslims in the southern state of Telangana.

"If a Bharatiya Janata Party government is formed, we will end the unconstitutional SC, ST and OBC reservations," Shah appears to say in Hindi in the video.

India's reservation system guarantees quotas of government jobs and college admissions to members of lower caste groups and tribal communities -- the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).

The policy has faced opposition from some Indians who argue it discriminates against poorer members of higher castes.

Shah is often referred to as the second-most powerful man in India after Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the pair have been close political allies for decades.

The video was shared by various Facebook users who identified themselves as members of Indian opposition parties.

"Tribal communities should remember this while voting," wrote Kalyan Kale, the Congress party candidate for the constituency of Jalna in Maharashtra state.

Nearly a billion Indians are voting to elect a new government in six-week-long elections that started on April 19, the largest democratic exercise in the world.

Edited video

The altered video features the logo for V6 News, a Telangana-based news organisation. A search on its YouTube channel found the original video uploaded on April 23, 2023.

The YouTube video, posted on April 23, 2023, is titled: "Union Minister Amit Shah Comments Muslim Reservations" (archived link).

The footage shows Shah pledging to scrap affirmative action policies for Muslims in India's southern Telangana state, not for members of lower castes and tribal communities.

At the two-minute, 38-second mark, he says in Hindi: "If a Bharatiya Janata Party government is formed, we will end this unconstitutional Muslim reservation."

"This right belongs to the SC, ST and OBC of Telangana. They will get this right and we will end the Muslim reservation."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the edited video shared on Facebook (left) and V6 News's original video (right):

Telangana, which is ruled by India's opposition Congress party, guarantees Muslims four percent of government jobs and places at state education institutions.

In his speech, Shah said the Muslim reservation policy went against India's constitution because it discriminated against citizens on the basis of religion.

Indian broadcaster NDTV reported that Shah made the comments at a rally in Telangana's capital Hyderabad (archived link).

'Baseless' video

Shah told a press conference on April 29, 2024 the video spread "baseless and unfounded" allegations (archived link).

"I want to make it clear that the BJP supports reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs and will always play its role as a protector," he said.

Indian police said on May 4 that had arrested the Congress party's social media chief Arun Reddy over accusations he was behind the doctored video.

Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed confirmed Reddy's arrest to AFP but denied he was responsible for creating or publishing the clip.

AFP has debunked more misinformation around India's elections here.