CLAIM
A set of photos on Facebook and WhatsApp showing massive crowds holding saffron flags are doing the rounds, claimed to be the crowd turnout at the ‘Dharm Sabha’ held by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other right-wing organisations in Ayodhya on 25 November.
The photos have been shared on several Facebook groups such as ‘ मिशन राम मंदिर में अपने १०० मित्रों को जोड़े’.
Apart from posting on such groups, several individuals too have taken to sharing the photos on Facebook.
TRUE OR FALSE?
These photos are not from Ayodhya, but from the Maratha Kranti Morcha rally that was held in Mumbai in August 2017.
HOW DO WE KNOW?
A simple reverse image search on Google shows that the photos shared are not from Ayodhya, but from the Maratha Kranti Morcha that was held in Mumbai back in 2017.
The first picture was carried by several news organisations including Mid-Day, and Amar Ujjala.
The second photo has been carried several times by Loksatta – with attribution reading ‘Archived Image’ (translated).
The third photo too has been carried by several news organisations including Deccan Chronicle and moneycontrol.com, and is from the Maratha Quota stir.
NOT AYODHYA, BUT JAIPUR
The last picture appears to be from Jaipur, when members of the Rajput Karni Sena staged a gherao at the Vidhan Sabha in Jaipur demanding reservation for the Rajput community on 3 March 2017.
The photo was carried by News18 Hindi on the same day.
PHOTO OF POLICE HELPING OLD MAN IS FROM MAY 2018
Another photo that was viral with respect to the Dharm Sabha was one of a policeman helping out an old man clad in saffron.
The photo was shared with the message: “1992 में जिन पुलिस वालों ने रामभक्तो पर गोलियां चलाई थी वो पुलिस वाले आज रामभक्तो की सेवा में लगे हैं। #योगीराज” This translates to “In 1992, the police who opened fire on Ram Bhakts, the same police is helping out Ram Bhakts today. #Yogiraj”
However, a reverse image search showed that the photo was from 25 May 2018, and had been tweeted out by the UP Police, as part of their ‘Elders First’ campaign.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE ‘DHARM SABHA’?
The VHP on Sunday held a ‘Dharm Sabha’ where they said they would not cede an “inch of land” for anything but a Ram temple, urging the state Sunni Waqf Board to withdraw its case over the disputed land.
Meanwhile, reports suggest a possible introduction of a Bill by the Modi government in the Parliament’s winter session that begins on 11 December.
(This article has been published as part of the Ekta News Coalition)
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