A photo of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) minister, Udhayanidhi Stalin with a Hindu seer called Srilasree Masilamani Desika Gnanasambandha Paramacharya Swami at Dharmapuram Adeenam in Tamil Nadu is being shared with the claim that it shows a recent interaction between the two.
What does the text say?: When translated from Tamil to English, the text on the image reads:
"Hey Sanatan crusader what are you doing here?"
"I haven't come as a minister I have come on a personal capacity."
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.) We also received the image as a claim on our WhatsApp tipline.
Why is there outrage over Udhayanidhi visiting a Hindu seer?: In September, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's son and Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development, Udhayanidhi made a controversial statement calling for the 'abolition of Sanatana Dharma', equating it with diseases like “dengue, malaria and COVID-19”.
Is it true?: No, the image dates back to November 2020 when Udhayanidhi Stalin was campaigning for the 2021 Tamil Nadu state assembly elections and sought the blessings of the Hindu guru at Dharmapuram Adeenam.
How did we find out?: Upon conducting a Google reverse image search, we came across reports by Vikatan and Dinamalar published in November 2020 that carried the same image as the viral photo.
Both reports noted Udhayanidhi's visit to Dharmapuram Adeenam in November 2020 and carried similar images such as the viral photo in their reports.
Dinamalar published its report on 22 November 2020 and noted Udhayanidhi visited the guru while he was campaigning for the state elections in 2020. Similarly, his late grandfather and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi visited the same place in 1972.
This page has been translated from Tamil to English using Google Translate.
(Source: Dinamalar/Screenshot)
We compared the images in the reports with the viral image and found similarities.
Elements in the pictures match with one another.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
With a relevant keyword search on Facebook, we came across a post on Udhayanidhi Stalin's official account dated 22 November 2020 where he shared some pictures describing his interaction with the Hindu seer.
Update on the comments made by Udhayanidhi:
His statement invited sharp reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress leader from Karnataka, Priyank Kharge came in support of DMK's Udhayanidhi.
Following the outrage, an FIR against both Udhayanidhi and Priyank Kharge was registered in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh.
Conclusion: The viral image is old and dates back to November 2020 when Udhayanidhi Stalin visited Dharmapuram Adeenam to seek blessing of the Hindu guru.
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