Pawan Khera Slammed Shankaracharya for Comment on Rahul Gandhi? Clip Is Edited!

This is a clipped video and has been compiled using different video bytes, making the claim, false.

A compilation of three clips featuring Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera and Swami Shankaracharya Avimukestwaranand is being shared on social media.

• Those sharing the video claim that Khera, who first praised the Hindu seer, changed his perspective after he allegedly labelled Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a 'non-Hindu' is being shared on social media.

What happens in the clip?:

• In the first clip, Khera said, “Shankaracharya Awimukestwaranand, who is believed to be the leader of Sanatana is only saying that according to Sanatana tradition, he should be allowed to bathe properly. This is a Hindu holy ritual."

• The second clip shows Avimukteshwaranand saying, “The temple belongs to Hindus, it cannot be otherwise. He is not a Hindu. One who speaks wrongly about Hindu scriptures, how can he be a Hindu? We have already expelled him.”

• In the last clip, Khera says, “Now he is no longer a Shankaracharya. This is the heights of arrogance. This is called vinaash kaale vipareet buddhi. What is your status/standing? Shame on such people. This is shamelessness, this is indecency, this is nothing less than brazenness.”

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false as this video has been edited to misleadingly present that Khera lashed out at the Shankararcharya.

• All three clip carry different contexts.

What we found: Team WebQoof checked the three clips separately and found the following.

First clip: We ran a relevant keyword search and found Khera's press briefing on Congress party's official YouTube channel from 20 January.

• The conference was about the recent controversy when the Hindu seer accused the Uttar Pradesh government of stopping him from taking a Mauni Amavasya holy dip at Prayagraj and mistreating his followers on 18 January.

• We went through the video and found that Khera's first statement was combined using two different moments in the press conference.

• At 3:55 minutes, Khera makes the statement about the Shankaracharya being the head of Sanatan Dharma.

• At 7:06 minutes, Khera says, "Avimukteshwaranand Ji is simply saying that according to Sanatan tradition, he should be allowed to perform the ritual bath properly."

• He further claimed that the Hindu seer was told permission was required to bathe in the Ganga, questioning whether any Indian or even the supreme Hindu saint should need approval from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to do so.

Second Clip: We divided the clip into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• It led us to a Network18 interview of the Shankaracharya from 15 January.

• Around 8:30 minutes, the journalist tells the Hindu seer that Gandhi might soon visit the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and asks his thoughts on the same.

• At 9 minutes, the Hindu saint mentions that Gandhi should not be allowed to enter the temple as it is a holy site for Hindus.

Third Clip: We traced Khera's statement to the press conference from 20 January, itself.

From 2:19 minutes onwards, Khera says:

"Swami Avimukteshwaranand ji has been sitting in protest for the last 48 hours in the intense cold without water and food. It is a far-fetched idea that the Chief Minister of the state or the administration will apologise. On the contrary, a notice came at 12 midnight from the UP government. In that notice it was said that the Hindu seer was not accepted as the "shankaracharya." This is the heights of their arrogance. This is called vinaash kaale vipareet buddhi."

At around the 4:13 mark, Khera criticised the Uttar Pradesh government and administration for preventing the Hindu seer from entering the Ganga for the rituals. At this point, he asks, “Who are you and what is your status?" as heard in the viral clip.

Although Swami Avimukteshwaranand has referred to Gandhi as a “non-Hindu,” Khera did not condemn the remark. Instead, in the last clip, he criticised the Uttar Pradesh government and administration for preventing the Hindu seer from performing rituals in the Ganga.

Conclusion: The viral clip is edited and Khera has made no statements to criticise the Hindu seer.

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