Fact check: Did Akhilesh Yadav disrespect the statue of Gautam Buddha?

A short clip of Akhilesh Yadav is getting viral on social media. In the clip, the president of the Samajwadi Party has taken a seat on stage and denied the statue of Gautam Buddha from keeping on the table. Users are claiming that Akhilesh Yadav has disrespected Gautam Buddha. Keshav Prasad Maurya, deputy chief minister of UP has shared the same video and accused him of hating Gautam Buddha on February 22, 2022.

श्री अखिलेश यादव जी भगवान तथागत गौतम बुद्ध से इतनी नफ़रत क्यों करते हो,क्या यह भी नई सपा का चरित्र है ! pic.twitter.com/tZJIbK4LC4

— Keshav Prasad Maurya (मोदी का परिवार) (@kpmaurya1) February 22, 2022

Awanish Kumar Singh, a BJP member alleged Yadav of expressing hate towards Lord Rama and Lord Gautam Budha. He also used the #नहीं_आ_रहे_अखिलेश.

तुमको राम से से भी नफ़रत ,तुमको महात्मा बुद्ध से भी नफ़रत , जनता को है तुम से नफ़रत #नहीं_आ_रहे_अखिलेश pic.twitter.com/FGyB5iuH1F

— Awanish Kumar Singh(मोदी का परिवार ) (@Awanish_Singh) February 23, 2022

Fact check

After researching, we found the entire video uploaded by Samajwadi Party on its official YouTube page. The clip was taken from the SP’s rally conducted in Sirathu, Kushambi. In the original video, Akhilesh Yadav paid respect to the statue of Gautam Buddha. Hence proving that the viral video was cropped on the other half part where he was denying the man to keep the statue on the table. Hence proving that video is spread misleadingly.

Whereas exactly on the 10 minutes 1 second of the video, we can mark the reality of the viral claim.

Conclusion: The claim is misleading

Claim review: Did Akhilesh Yadav disrespect the statue of Gautam Buddha?

Claim by: Keshav Prasad Maurya, Awanish Kumar Singh

Fact check: Misleading