A fake letter claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to Bhartiya Janta Party President - Jagat Prakash Nadda endorsing Union Minister Giriraj Singh as the next chief minister of Bihar instead of the incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is being shared on social media
The letter is being shared in the backdrop of the counting process going on for the 243 Bihar assembly seats, with the incumbent National Democratic Alliance government led by Nitish Kumar facing off against the grand alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and the Left led by Tejashwi Yadav.
Follow live updates: Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Nitish Kumar Vs Tejashwi Yadav
The fake letter addressed to Nadda reads, "....I am happy to inform you that Bharatiya Janata Party 1s the only party who follow democratic norms, my vote for Shri Giiraj Singh as Chief Minister Bihar out of three candidates. Shri Giriraj Singh contribution to accomplish the mile stone of Ram Mandir is extra ordinary and commendable...."
BOOM received the fake letter on its WhatsApp helpline number (7700906111) enquiring whether it is genuine.
We also received a screenshot of a now deleted tweet by a Twitter user (@Thakurrsjamwal2) who had tweeted the fake letter claiming that PM Modi wanted Singh as the new chief minister of Bihar instead of Nitish Kumar.
Also Read: No, This Photo Of Alcohol Bottles Is Not Linked To Bihar Polls
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found several discrepancies in the viral letter including several grammatical errors, the signature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi not matching his original sign and the colour of the Indian emblem in the letter.
We also found that the fake letter is similar to other fake letters that have gone viral in the past with false claims like PM Modi thanking Supreme Court Judges and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for supporting a Hindu Rashtra.
Also Read: Fake Letter Claims PM Modi Thanked UP CM For Supporting Hindu Rashtra
On comparing the viral letter to official replies from the Prime Mister to citizens who had written to him and found several differences, like PM Modi has in the past replied to a 11-year-old student from Haryana.
The letter has glaring grammatical mistakes such as a missing apostrophe while talking about Giriraj Singh's contribution and writing the word 'milestone' as 'mile stone'.
One of the major discrepancies was in the signature of PM Modi. The N in the original letter doesn't have any curves, whereas in the fake letter, the N has many curves and the elliptical loop around the letter 'N' is also different.
The colour of the emblem in the fake letter is black and white, while in the original letters written by the PM it is not. The letter appears to be a photocopy - far easier to forge. This is visible from the emblem which appears in black and white instead of a gold emblem that appears on actual letters from the prime minister
The fake letter also doesn't have the Shalivahana Saka calendar date in place after 'New Delhi,' on the top right side. The Saka Samvat, is the Indian national calendar and letter's written by PM Modi usually mention the date and year according to the calendar, in addition to the Gregorian system.
On comparing PM Modi's letters to Cricketers like Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni recently in August, we can see the Shalivahana Saka calendar date in place after 'New Delhi,' being used.
Additionally, we did not find any credible news reports about a letter written by PM Modi to BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda on endorsing Union Minister Giriraj Singh as the next chief minister of Bihar instead of its incumbent Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Also Read: 2019 Video Viral With False Claims Of EVM Being Rigged In Bihar Polls