A video showing a group of women tearing apart and stomping on posters with the image of Hindu deity Ram is viral on social media. It is claimed that the women are Congress members and they insulted the Hindu religion and the deity, Ram.
X (formerly Twitter) user ANGRY BIRD 💎 (Modi का परिवार) (@angryladki) shared the video on May 5 with a caption in Hindi that stated, “Congress party leaders dance with shoes on the Hindu deities of Sanatan Dharma…”
Readers should note that the user @angryladki has been found sharing misinformation several times in the past.
कांग्रेस पार्टी के नेताओं सनातन धर्म के हिंदू देवी देवता के ऊपर जूते से डांस करते हैं। हिंदू लोगों ने 65 वर्ष से कोंग्रेस पार्टी को वोट दिया। मै और मेरा परिवार कोंग्रेस पार्टी को वोट कभी भी नहीं देंगे।
🚩जय जय श्री राम🚩@INCIndia #CongressMukthBharat @RahulGandhi
क्या अब भी? pic.twitter.com/x6eMBslwv5— ANGRY BIRD 💎 (Modi का परिवार) (@angryladki) May 5, 2024
Propaganda outlet Panchjanya (@epanchjanya) also shared the viral video with the same claim.
कांग्रेसियों की शर्मनाक हरकत !
भगवान राम की तस्वीर को पैर से कुचला, पोस्टर फाड़े।
स्थानीय अखबार के मुताबिक, इन्हें BJP का पटका गले में डालकर भगवान राम का पोस्टर फाड़ने को कहा गया था। pic.twitter.com/BovZUX9BOh
— Panchjanya (@epanchjanya) May 6, 2024
Several other users on Facebook and X shared the same video claiming that the Congress workers had stomped on the posters with images of Hindu deity Ram.
Fact Check
At the 1.27 mark of the viral video, a person who is recording the scene is heard saying in Hindi, “These are our BJP workers”. Toward the end of the video, the women who were stomping on the posters can be seen chanting ‘Jai Jai Siya Ram’, and one of the women in the crowd is spotted wearing a saffron and green scarf with the BJP symbol (Lotus) on it.
Further, we found the same video tweeted with the claim that the posters were torn by BJP members. It was shared by X handle @IndiaAwakened_. Here, too, one can see the BJP symbol on the scarves worn by some of the women.
Taking a cue from the above, we ran a relevant keyword search and found a news report by the Free Press Journal which carried screengrabs from the viral video. The title of the report said: “Imarti Devi Row: Angry BJP Mahila Morcha Trample Jitu Patwari’s Posters Featuring Lord Ram & Hanuman In Indore; Congress Calls It ‘Insult To God’ (WATCH)”.
The report said that members of the BJP women’s wing had staged a demonstration outside the house of Congress leader Jitu Patwari, a former minister and current president of Madhya Pradesh Congress, in Indore, in protest against some comments made by him about former MLA and BJP leader Imarti Devi. The women in the video were tearing posters of Patwari, which also consisted of images of Hindu deities Hanuman and Ram.
We noticed that on several occasions in the video, then name Jitu Patwari or parts of the name are visible on the damaged posters. Here is one such frame:
As per a report by the NDTV, a case has been registered against Patwari for allegedly making objectionable comments about Imarti Devi.
Hence, the claims that it was Congress workers who had torn apart posters with images of Hindu deity Ram are false. The women seen in the video are BJP members protesting against some remarks by Congress leader Jitu Patwari.
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