An X user named Swami Ramsarnacharya Pandey recently tweeted a video featuring a meat shop on a temple premises. It is claimed the video was shot at the Sita Ram Temple in Wayanad, Kerala, which purportedly contained a chicken shop. The temple was purportedly inaugurated by Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi. While sharing the video, the user wrote that the scene was from Wayanad where Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had allowed Muslims to occupy the Sri Sita Ram Temple four years ago.
केरल के वायनाड में राहुल गांधी और प्रियंका वाड्राइन ने चार साल पहले हिंदुओं के बड़े मंदिर श्रीसीताराम मंदिर पर मुसलमानों का कब्जा रजिस्टर्ड करा दिया था 😡
अब तो कांग्रेसी ब्राह्मण क्षत्रिय बहुत खुश हो चुके होंगे 😭😭
सब लोग भाजपा को ही वोट दें 🙏@INCIndia @SupriyaShrinate pic.twitter.com/67AD0aftWI— Swami Ramsarnacharya Pandey, मेलकोटे पीठाधीश्वर (@SwamiRamsarnac4) April 30, 2024
Another user named Rajesh Sharma also promoted the video with a similar claim.
Fact Check
In order to find out more about the viral video, we performed a keyword search on Google. This led us to a video uploaded on August 25, 2023, on the YouTube channel “Makhan Ram Jaipal Vlogs“. The video contained footage from inside and outside the temple building. The vlogger stated that the temple was located in Ahmadpur Sial in the Jhang district in Pakistan’s Punjab province. However, following the partition of India and Pakistan, the temple fell into disuse and its roof was on the verge of collapsing. According to the information provided in the video, several shops have now been opened inside this temple building, including one that sells meat.
According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan, there are no Hindus living in Ahmadpur Sial in Jhang district.
Another search on YouTube led us to a second video related to this temple uploaded on January 5, 2023, on the channel “History place“. It confirmed that this temple is indeed located in Ahmadpur Sial, Pakistan.
We also found the featured location on Google Maps, which included an image of the dilapidated temple.
To sum it up, the video in question is not from Wayanad, Kerala, but from Ahmadpur Sial, Pakistan, and it has no connection to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. Several BJP supporters falsely claimed that the footage was from Wayanad where local MP Rahul Gandhi had allowed Muslims to occupy a Hindu temple and set up a meat shop.
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