A fake graphic claiming that the Waqf Board has claimed the land on which Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple stands, is being shared ahead of voting in the Maharashtra assembly election.
BOOM found that the claim is false. Marathi newspaper Sakal debunked the fake graphic circulating in its name.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane posted the Marathi graphic which claims, "Waqf Board has claimed Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai". The text above it reads, "Thats why don't vote for UBT (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Shiv Sena) and Congress". The graphic has a logo of Marathi newspaper Sakal on the top right corner.
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Right wing handle @KreatelyMedia also posted the same false claim on X.
BOOM has also previously debunked misinformation posted by Kreately and Nitish Rane.
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Kreately posted three other graphics with fake claims that the Waqf board has claimed Gateway of India, Taj Hotel and Pune municipality land. The graphics do not cite any source or spell out that they are satire.
FACT-CHECK: No, Waqf Board Has Not Claimed Siddhivinayak Temple
We found that the viral claim is fake and the Waqf Board has not staked any such claim for the land on which Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai, stands.
Marathi Newspaper Sakal Rubbishes Fake Graphic
Marathi daily Sakal posted on Instagram stating that the graphic attributed to it is fake and it has not posted any such report about the Waqf Board claiming Siddhivinayak Temple.
Chairperson of the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust (SSGT) denies any land dispute or notice from Waqf Board
We then reached out to Sada Sarvankar, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) MLA from Mahim, and chairperson of the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust (SSGT) who denied the claim and said there was no land dispute or notice from the Waqf Board.
"This is not the case, there is no such thing. People share anything on social media," Sarvankar told BOOM. Sarvankar also denied any land dispute or receiving any notice from Waqf Board as being claimed in viral posts.
Additionally, we did not find any credible news reports corroborating the claim.
What is Waqf Board?
The Central Waqf Council is a body under the Ministry of Minority Affairs of the government of India. It was set up in 1964. Waqf is a dedication or grant made by philanthropists. It consists of movable or immovable properties and the donation is used for religious or charitable purposes as recognised by Islamic law.
Maharashtra is set to vote on November 20, 2024 with the results to be declared on November 23. The ruling Mahayuti (BJP - Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP) will face off against the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar's NCP).
