By Anmol Alphonso
An old photo from February 2020 of President Droupadi Murmu and former President Ram Nath Kovind offering prayers at the Baba Vaidyanath Temple in Deoghar, Jharkhand is being shared with a misleading claim that it is recent.
The viral photo is being shared with the false claim that a Vedic ritual was held by both of them before the official transfer of power and before Murmu took oath as the President of India on July 25, 2022.
NDA nominee Murmu became the first tribal woman to be elected as the President of India beating opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha by a large margin on July 21, 2022. Murmu, a former Governor of Jharkhand, had surpassed the 50 percent mark of total valid votes at the end of the third round of counting.
Also Read: Tribal Leader Droupadi Murmu Becomes New President of India
The post when translated from Hindi reads, "Handing over inheritance or transfer of power is a sacrifice in itself. Yagya takes place in the presence of Devas and Mahadev. These moments of transfer, these moments of emotion, intuition and atmosphere write history. See the transfer of the presidency. Political formalities will continue to happen, Vedic commitment is being done first.. Now the country will get both good and good benefits."
(In Hindi - # विरासत सौंपना या सत्ता हस्तांतरण करना , अपने आप में एक यज्ञ होता है । यज्ञ देवों और महादेव के साक्षित्व में होता है । हस्तांतरण के ये क्षण , इन क्षणों के भाव, अंतर्भाव और वातावरण ही इतिहास लिखते हैं । राष्ट्रपति पद का हस्तांतरण देखिए । राजनैतिक औपचारिकताएं होती रहेंगी , वैदिक प्रतिबद्धता प्रथमतः हो रही है .. अब शुभ और लाभ दोनों ही मिलेंगे देश को.)
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The photo was revived by right-wing social media account Kreately, however, the post did not have any false claims. BOOM has previously debunked misinformation published on Kreately.
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The graphic is being shared widely on Facebook with the misleading claim.
Also Read: Cropped Video Of President Kovind Greeting PM Modi Viral With Misleading Claims
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral photo is from February 2020 when former President Ram Nath Kovind and then Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu had offered prayers together at Baba Vaidyanath Temple in Deoghar during an official Presidential state visit.
We ran a reverse image search on the viral graphic using Google Images and found news articles with the same photo from February 2020 when Kovind had visited Baba Vaidyanath Temple along with Murmu who was then the Jharkhand Governor.
An article by Prabhat Khabar dated February 29, 2020, had the same viral photo with a story in Hindi that translates to, "President Ram Nath Kovind worshiped Baba Vaidyanath in Deoghar, wished for the country's happiness and prosperity"
The report further added that Kovind was welcomed by Murmu at the airport in her capacity of the Jharkhand Governor. We also found several other articles on the official visit by former President Kovind to the state.
Additionally, the Official Twitter account of the Deoghar District Administration also tweeted a video on February 29, 2020, when prayers were being offered by Kovind and Murmu.
On July 25, 2022, President Murmu was administered the oath of office as the President of India by the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana.
