Claim
The anchor sarcastically counters the SP spokesperson by asserting that 30 MLAs were indeed broken away from the BSP (implying the opposition also engineered defections while claiming it was done 'to save the Constitution').
“अब बेसिकली अनुराग जी कह रहे हैं जो 30 विधायक तोड़े थे वो पार्टी नहीं टूटी थी। तब बीएसपी टूटी ही नहीं थी। तब तो शिष्टाचार में सब कुछ हो गया था।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
The anchor's underlying historical assertion is substantively correct: in 2003 the SP benefited from a mass breakaway of BSP MLAs that was portrayed as a party 'split' rather than defection — 37 BSP MLAs claimed a split and merged with SP to sustain Mulayam Singh Yadav's government, and the Supreme Court in 2007 disqualified the original 13, holding no genuine split was proved. The anchor's figure of '30' MLAs is an approximation — contemporaneous records put the breakaway group at 37 (13 initially) — but the core point that BSP legislators were broken away while the move was dressed up as legitimate stands. No Indian fact-checker (AltNews, BOOM, Factly, Newschecker, PIB) has a specific check on this broadcast statement; the verdict rests on court records.
Evidence
- https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1620629/ Supreme Court judgment in Rajendra Singh Rana v. Swami Prasad Maurya (2007) records that in Aug–Sep 2003, 13 BSP MLAs met the Governor to support Mulayam Singh Yadav's SP government and 37 BSP MLAs then claimed a 'split' in the BSP; the Court held the 13 had defected and stood disqualified, rejecting the claim that a valid split occurred. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.whiteblacklegal.co.in/details/case-analysis-rajendra-singh-rana-v-swami-prasad-maurya-and-others-2007-4-scc-270-by---astha-bhumish-shah Case analysis confirming the 2003 BSP breakaway (Lok Tantrik Bahujan Dal) that merged into the Samajwadi Party the same day, and that the Supreme Court found no evidence of a genuine party split. ✓ reachable · archived