Fact Check: Girl applies tilak on Maha CM Fadnavis with toe after swearing-in ceremony? No, video is old
A video of a girl applying tilak on Fadnavis’ forehead after he was sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister with her toe has gone viral
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 12 Dec 2024 10:36 AM GMT
Claim: A video shows a physically disabled girl applying tilak to Devendra Fadnavis after he was made the chief minister of Maharashtra recently.
Fact: The claim is misleading. The video is old and it was filmed during an event when Devendra Fadnavis was the Maharashtra deputy CM.
Hyderabad: On December 5, Devendra Fadnavis took the oath as Maharashtra’s chief minister for the third time in a grand ceremony at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. This marked his third tenure, following his earlier terms from 2014 to 2019 and a brief five-day stint starting November 25.
Amid this development, a video surfaced online claiming to show a physically challenged girl with no hands applying tilak on Fadnavis with her toe after he was sworn in. A Facebook user shared the video with the caption: “A physically handicapped girl took aarti for Devendra Fadnavis elected as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Both are great. This requires a big heart. There will be no pride or arrogance.”
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. The video is old.
A reverse image search led us to a video in an Instagram post, dated November 11, 2024, featuring the same visuals.
Since the video was shared before Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the chief minister, this hinted that the video is old.
Further, we found a Dainik Bhaskar report about the incident from a year earlier.
As per the report, the video was filmed in Jalgaon during an event organised by the Deep Stambh Foundation when Fadnavis was the deputy CM.
The Free Press Journal also posted the same video on June 28, 2023, with the caption: “#Maharashtra: A disabled person puts a tilak on Deputy CM @Dev_Fadnavis’ forehead with her toe.”
Therefore, the claim that a physically challenged girl applied tilak on Devendra Fadnavis during his swearing-in as Maharashtra chief minister is misleading. The video is old and was filmed in Jalgaon during an event when Fadnavis was the deputy CM.
