Allegations of theft regarding the offerings at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya are being raised. The opposition is raising a lot of questions on this matter. Meanwhile, an alleged statement by BJP MP Manoj Tiwari is going viral. Manoj Tiwari’s statement on a Navbharat Times postcard reads, ‘We have built the Ram Temple. Whether we loot, steal, or sell it, what does the opposition have to do with it? We have consumed the public’s money, what can the opposition do to me.
‘Sharing this postcard, a user named Manoj Yadav wrote, ‘He has accepted it himself, now we Samajwadis cannot do anything, now whatever happens will be done by Lord Shri Ram Ji. And if nothing happens, then consider Lord Shri Ram weak in front of BJP-RSS.‘
Meanwhile, on Facebook, a user named Manoj Kumar shared this postcard and wrote, ‘Look #bhaktas… this is the #statement of our #country’s #great_leader_ji. This is what is #called adding #insult to injury [or literal: theft on top of defiance]. Taking the #opposition’s name, Leader Ji is #telling the #citizens of the #country, #pluck whatever you want to #pluck, we are in #power, we will #do whatever is in our #heart [mind], no one can #say anything!!’”
Fact Check:
The DFRAC team investigated the viral postcard and found it to be fake. During our investigation, we also found that BJP MP Manoj Tiwari has not made any such statement regarding the Ram Temple offering theft case, nor has any such postcard been posted by Navbharat Times (NBT).
We first checked Manoj Tiwari’s social media handles regarding the viral statement. On X (formerly Twitter), we found a denial by Manoj Tiwari regarding the viral statement, where he quote-posted a user named Nazia who shared the viral postcard and wrote, ‘Immediate action should be taken against this Naajiya who spreads fake news.. I did not give such a statement, nor can I think like that.. I request @XCorpIndia and @X to take action against this fake news. This is dangerous for my image and society’
Since the viral postcard features the Navbharat Times logo, we checked Navbharat Times’ social media handles for further investigation. We found a rebuttal regarding the viral postcard on NBT’s X handle, NBT Hindi News, in which Navbharat Times termed the viral postcard as fake. NBT wrote, ‘For the past few days, several fake posts are being made viral on social media under NBT’s name, through which attempts are being made to spread misleading and wrong information. Please beware — all these posts are completely fake. Legal action will be taken against those misusing NBT’s name. For the veracity and official information of any news, rely only on NBT’s official social media handles and platforms.’
Conclusion:
DFRAC’s fact check makes it clear that this claim is fake. Manoj Tiwari did not make the viral statement. Furthermore, NBT has not issued any such postcard either. Therefore, the users’ claim is false.
