A video of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, along with several Union ministers, receiving Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka is being shared with the claim that they brought a stone on which Goddess Sita used to sit to Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
However, this video is from Kushinagar airport when monks from Sri Lanka brought a Buddha relic to Uttar Pradesh on 20 October.
CLAIM
The claim along with the video reads: "The rock on which Sita Mata used to sit in Ashok Vatika was brought to Ayodhya from Sri Lanka."
The video shared by Twitter user 'Ashish Jaggi' had garnered over three lakh views at the time of writing the article.
You can view the archived version here.
(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)
The video is viral on Facebook.
(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)
The Quint received a query on the claim being made about the video on its WhatsApp tipline as well.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We searched on Google with keywords 'Yogi Adityanath Sri Lanka Ayodhya relic' and came across an article by The Times of India published on 20 October that carried visuals similar to the viral one.
The article mentioned that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath received the Buddha relics at the Kushinagar International Airport.
The report mentioned that Yogi Adityanath received Buddha relics at the Kushinagar airport.
(Source: The Times of India/ Screenshot)
Since Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia can be seen in the viral video, we went through his Twitter timeline and found that he had tweeted visuals of the same event on 20 October.
The tweet mentioned that the UP CM along with several Union ministers welcomed Buddhist monks and a delegation from Sri Lanka.
VIRAL VIDEO SHOWS BUDDHA RELIC
Next, we also found a press release issued by the Ministry of Culture available on Press Information Bureau (PIB) that carried some of the visuals seen in the viral video and mentioned that Union Minister G Kishan Reddy had said that he was "grateful to head monk of Waskaduwa relics temple, Sri Lanka for bringing the relics to India."
Further, the official Twitter handle of India in Sri Lanka had tweeted images in which the relic can be clearly seen and wrote, "Yet another milestone! Exposition of the sacred Kapilavastu relics of Waskaduwa has commenced with the landing of the historic Airplane from #Colombo to #Khusinagar.(sic)"
Later on 27 October, the Twitter handle of India in Sri Lanka stated that the Kapilavastu relics of Waskaduwa returned to Sri Lanka.
WHAT ABOUT THE STONE RELATED TO GODDESS SITA?
On 28 October, the Twitter handle of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra tweeted that High Commissioner and ministers of Sri Lanka donated a shila (sacred stone) from Sita temple, Ashok Vatika to Ayodhya.
As per a Hindustan Times article, Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust received the Sri Lankan delegation that included their high commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda and his wife Jennifer Moragoda, among others.
Earlier, in March, the high commission of India in Colombo had tweeted that a stone from Sita Eliya in Sri Lanka will be used in the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Evidently, a video of UP chief minister and Union ministers receiving Buddhist monks carrying Buddha relic was used to falsely claim that it showed the stone on which Goddess Sita used to sit.
(With inputs from SM Hoax Slayer)
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