Fact Check: Dhirendra Shastri padayatra disrupted by Aurangzeb poster? No, video is from Maharashtra elections

Dhirendra Shastri, spiritual leader of Bageshwar Dham, began a 160 km padayatra (foot march) on November 21, 2024, from Bageshwar Dham. The march focused on promoting Hindu Unity will conclude on November 29 in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh.

Against this backdrop, a video has been circulating on social media, alleging that Muslims attempted to disrupt Shastri’s rally by provoking attendees with a poster of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The video indeed features men displaying posters with Aurangzeb on one side and BR Ambedkar on the other, along with slogans supporting the Mughal emperor.

A user on X shared the video and wrote, “During Baba Dhirendra Shastri’s padayatra in Bageshwar, Muslims showed photos of Aurangzeb and raised slogans like “Aurangzeb tera baap, Aurangzeb tera baap.” Despite the provocation, Hindus exhibited great restraint. You can see the video yourself to witness how much they were incited to cause unrest, yet Hindus continued walking peacefully in the march. Had Hindus responded, the opposing group would have likely played the victim card, claiming that Muslims were attacked during Dhirendra Shastri's march.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found the claim to be false, as the video is from a bike rally held during the recently concluded 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Upon conducting a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes, we found the video posted by a Facebook account Javed Qureshi on November 18 and an Instagram and X account on November 20. The Facebook user claimed the video shows a confrontation between Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) candidate Javed Qureshi and Shiv Sena's Pradeep Jayaswal Shiv Narayan cavalcade during a rally. The post also mentioned that Qureshi's supporters raised slogans in support of Aurangzeb while displaying his photo. The Instagram and X posts mentioned that the video is from Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

Shastri’s rally began on November 21, but the video was first posted on November 18. This confirms that it predates Shastri's rally and is not related to the event.

Upon closely reviewing the video, we observed a car with a Maharashtra registration number. Additionally, we found Qureshi’s poster with the location marked as Bhadkal Gate, Aurangabad. The poster features the photos of Javed Qureshi and VBA founder Prakash Ambedkar, alongside the election symbol, a gas cylinder. On the opposite side of the road, vehicles with saffron flags are visible, and the occupants are holding BJP and Shiv Sena flags.

Upon further investigation, we found that Bhadkal Gate falls within the Aurangabad Central Assembly Constituency. Using this lead, we checked the Election Commission website and confirmed that Pradeep Jayaswal Shivnarayan won the seat, while Javed Qureshi finished in fourth place, losing the election.

NewsMeter reached out to Pradeep Jayaswal and Javed Qureshi, and both confirmed that the video shows their cavalcades passing through one of the roads in Aurangabad during election campaigning. Jayaswal explained, “Our rally was passing on one side, and Qureshi's rally was passing on the other side. We were chanting ‘Jai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,’ while they were chanting ‘Aurangzeb Zindabad.’ There was no unpleasant incident. We peacefully left the area." Qureshi also confirmed that they had conducted a bike rally on November 18.

Hence, we conclude that the claim of Muslims disrupting Shastri’s padayatra by displaying Aurangzeb’s photo is false.