Mamata Banerjee’s visit to a dargah was not in ‘secret’ but covered by media

The upcoming election in West Bengal has given rise to online misinformation. A video of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with members of the Muslim community has gone viral. People can be repeatedly heard chanting Allah’s name in the clip. Several posts claim that Banerjee used to meet Muslims in broad daylight but now visits them secretly in the dead of night. It is being suggested that this is her tactic to fool Hindus.

Twitter user Dr. Santosh Vyas’s tweet carrying the video amassed over 6,600 views at the time of writing. (Archive link)

रात के अंधेरे में @MamataOfficial मुस्लिमों से मिलने का काम कर रही है जो पहले दिन के उजाले में करती थी ऐसा क्यों.?
अब दिन के उजाले में हिंदुओं को बेवकूफ बनाया जा रहा है !
हिडन कैमरे से सारी हरकतें रिकॉर्ड हो गई.!
इसे इतना फैला दो कि पश्चिम बंगाल का हर आदमी इस बात को समझ जाए..🙏 pic.twitter.com/UDlGTddj01

— Dr.Santosh vyas…🌶🌶 (@DrSantoshvyas1) March 19, 2021

One Rajesh Kesari also tweeted the video and accompanying claim. (Archive link)

#रात के अंधेरे में #ममता_दीदी मुस्लिमों से मिलने काम कर रही हैं जो पहले दिन के उजाले में किया करतीं थीं ऐसा क्यूं ,
अब दिन के उजाले में हिन्दूओं को वेवकुफ बनाया जा रहा है वो तो हिंडन कैमरे ने सारी हरकतें रिकॉर्ड कर ली गई !!#ये_डर_बहुत_अच्छी_है pic.twitter.com/bnwEI7IONy

— राजेश केसरी (@rajeshk9835455) March 20, 2021

The visuals are viral on Facebook and Twitter.

Fact-check

Alt News performed a keyword search and found an ABP News story dated March 9. It says that Mamata Banerjee visited a temple and dargah before filing her nomination from Nandigram. After addressing a public gathering, she paid respects at the Hari temple and later went to a Durga where she offered flowers. The Chief Minister said in her speech that some people are attempting to create a divide using the 70:30 ratio of Hindu-Muslim population in West Bengal. She added that those doing so were defaming the holy movement of Nandigram by instigating the people of both faiths against each other.

On March 9, Times Now released a video story that covered Mamata Banerjee’s visit to the dargah. Here, a man wearing a blue plaid shirt is seen in the background. He also appears in the viral clip. Furthermore, the politician is donning the same pink scarf and white mask in both sets of visuals.

The Aaj Tak video broadcast below shows the CM offering a sheet at the dargah.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee stopped at a temple and dargah before filing her nomination from Nandigram for the assembly polls. A video of her visiting the dargah was shared on social media with the misleading claim that she had visited the Muslim place of worship in secret.