A video of Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut interviewing party leader Uddhav Thackeray is being widely shared on social media in connection to the recently ended Cockroach Janta Party-led (CJP) protests.What happens in the video?: In the short clip, Thackeray can be heard saying, "The youth who have come to the streets are accompanied by the parents and grandparents. It means that this is an avatar of Lord Vishu, which has taken birth to save the nation."What is the claim?: Those sharing the clip have claimed that Thackeray was referring to Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the CJP.The claim was also shared by Tajinder Bagga, the National Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), an affiliate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).An archived version of this claim can be seen here.(Archived versions of more posts sharing this claim can be seen here, here, and here.)Is it true?: No, the claim is false.Thackeray called the youth who were protesting an avatar of Lord Vishnu, not Dipke.BJP Shares Old Videos Claiming To Show 2026 NEET Student Success StoriesHow did we find out the truth?: On one corner of the video, we noticed that the clip was sourced from Saamana, a Marathi news organisation which was founded by Bal Thackeray.The video was sourced from Saamana.We found the full video of the interview which was published on Saamana's verified YouTube channel on 26 July 2026.The video was titled "Uddhav Thackeray Interview: The Public Is Vishnu's Avatar! Uddhav Thackeray’s Hard-Hitting Interview"Thackeray was interviewed by his party's MP Sanjay Raut, who asked him about his Delhi visit where he met CJP protesters and Dipke and what he saw there.Starting at the 02:23, he said that the country has been deceived since 2014 after being lured by false promises while receiving nothing. He added that the "eruption" that the protests saw was not based solely on the NEET paper leak, but reflected people's dissatisfaction over all the deception over the last 10-12 years.Uddhav Thackeray during an interview with Saamana"Now, in truth, Lord Vishnu has taken form as the people protesting, is what I saw yesterday. This is him, who has taken form to save the country and dharma. By dharma, I don't mean Hindu or Muslim, I mean humanity as dharma. To save this dharma, the youth on the street are accompanied by their mother, father, and grandparents as well. They are an avatar of Lord Vishnu, who have taken birth to save the nation."This statement shows that Thackeray was talking about protesters, not Dipke.While Thackeray spoke about Dipke around the 22:22-minute mark, but did not liken him to any deity. He only asked why the CJP leader, who had good education and employment opportunities, came back and raised this issue.Conclusion: A video showing Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray is being shared to falsely claim that he called CJP's Abhijeet Dipke an avatar of Lord Vishnu.DCP Sumit Jha Resigns Over Police Action on Student Protesters? No, Video is AI(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)