A set of two photographs showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi planting a 'Parijat' or night-flowering jasmine sapling while wearing sandals is being shared on Facebook with a false claim that the prime minister wore footwear during the Bhumi Pujan ceremony in Ayodhya thus offending religious sentiments.
BOOM found that the viral photos, which also show Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, were taken before the Bhumi Pujan ceremony thus making the claim - false.
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The prime minister lay the foundation stone of the proposed Ram Mandir at Ayodhya in a highly publicised event on August 5, 2020 at what was once a disputed site between Hindus and Muslims for decades until the Supreme Court of India's verdict in November 2019 which paved the way for the construction of a temple.
The viral images show the prime minister watering a newly planted Parijat sapling in Ayodhya at the site where a Ram temple will be built. The images have been highlighted with red and blue circles to draw the viewer's attention to the PM's sandals.
A caption accompanying the photographs in Hindi falsely claims the prime minister has insulted Hinduism by wearing sandals during the bhumi pujan ceremony.
The posts can be seen below and their archived versions are available here and here.
The false claim is viral on Twitter as well with the same set of images.
पैरों में चप्पल पहनकर कोई भूमि पूजन होता है क्या?
— Sanjay Babu (@Sanjay_babu02) August 6, 2020
ये किस मानसिकता के भक्त है मित्रो😳😳 pic.twitter.com/Rs21oYjLtG
चप्पल जूता पहनकर भूमि पूजन
— Dinesh Kumar (@DineshK54461795) August 6, 2020
वाह👌मोदी हे तो मुमकिन हैं
नकली राम भक्त pic.twitter.com/dQklWli76Z
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Fact Check
BOOM found that the claim is false as the viral photos were taken before the ceremony.
We ran a reverse image search and found an article published by NDTV. The article reads: "Before laying the foundation stone of the temple, PM Modi planted a Parijat sapling in the temple premises," where it clearly mentions in the premises of the yet to be built temple.
Moreover, we traced the movement of the prime minister from his arrival at the temple site, prostrating before the makeshift Ram temple (as seen in the photo below) and till the end of the bhumi pujan - and found that he did not wear sandals during the religious event.
BOOM compiled a series of screenshots from the live coverage of the ceremony. One can clearly see him wearing only socks and not sandals, as claimed by viral Facebook posts.
To watch the live coverage of the stone-laying ceremony, watch the video below.