During a press conference addressing the issue related to Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand, Congress leader Pawan Khera strongly criticised the BJP and the Yogi government. A statement made by Khera is currently going viral on social media, claiming that he called the Shankaracharya shameless and arrogant during this criticism.
In the viral video, Pawan Khera can be heard saying, “Now he is no longer a Shankaracharya. This is the peak of arrogance. This is what is called ‘vinashkaale vipreet buddhi’ (misguided intellect at the time of destruction). Who are you? What is your status? Shame on such people. This is shamelessness, this is indecency, this is brazenness, nothing less than that.”
Many other users are also sharing this video with similar claims, which can be seen here, here, here, and here.
Fact Check
Upon investigating the viral statement of Pawan Khera, the DFRAC team found that an edited statement of Khera has been shared. He neither criticised Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand nor called him shameless and arrogant. In his statement, Pawan Khera was criticising the BJP and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. His statement has been edited in such a way that it appears he made these remarks while criticising Swami Avimukteshwaranand. We found Pawan Khera’s full statement on the official YouTube channel of the Indian National Congress.
Different parts of his statement were edited and joined in such a way that it appears he criticised Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand. First, in the duration from 2:20 minutes to 3:10 minutes of the video, Pawan Khera says, “Far from apologising, the UP government and administration instead sent a notice at 12 midnight from the Uttar Pradesh government. In that notice it is said, ‘Sir, we do not consider you a Shankaracharya.’ This is the peak of arrogance; this is what is called vinashkaale vipreet buddhi. This is a shameless BJP.”
After that, from 3:55 minutes to 4:15 minutes, Pawan Khera says, “Shankaracharyas, who are considered the foremost of Sanatan, are so. Will any DM decide, will the administration decide, will any Chief Minister decide whether he is a Shankaracharya or not? Who are you? What is your status?”
Then, from 6:10 minutes to 6:54 minutes, Pawan Khera says, “In 1954, a case came before the Supreme Court; it was a case related to a monastery. In it, it was said that no one has the right to interfere in the tradition and functioning of a monastery. So last night at 12, Adityanath, Ajay Singh Bisht, sent a notice. This violates Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution. This is not right on the scale of morality, not right on the scale of law, and not right on the scale of the Constitution. This is shamelessness, this is indecency, this is brazenness, nothing less than that.”
Meanwhile, for more information, our team also contacted Congress leader Pawan Khera. He said, “The claim that I criticised Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand is completely false. When the BJP and people associated with it have been caught insulting a Hindu saint, they are spreading fake news.”
Conclusion
DFRAC’s fact check clearly shows that Congress leader Pawan Khera did not criticise Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand. The viral video is edited. In the original video, he was criticising the BJP and the Yogi government over the Shankaracharya issue. Therefore, the users’ claim is misleading.
