Fact Check: Post claiming appointment of Mohit Pandey as chief priest of Ayodhya Ram Mandir is misleading

Hyderabad: Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is all set to be inaugurated on January 22, 2024, after a decade-long legal battle. Prime Minister Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will attend the grand inauguration ceremony, and more than 6,000 people will join the grand Pran Pratistha ceremony at Ram Temple.

Amidst this, an X handle, Kreately Media, has claimed that Mohit Pandey, who had applied for the post, has been selected as the chief priest of the Ram Mandir from 3,000 applicants.

Another X user making the same claim wrote, “Mohit Pandey. Selected as Pradhan archaka of Ayodhya Sri Ram Mandir. Top out of more than 3000 applicants who had applied for the post. He will be Pujari in Temple. (sic)”

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading as Mohit Pandey has been selected as a priest of Ayodhya Ram Temple but not as its chief priest.

We ran a relevant keyword search and came across a report by ETV Bharat from December 7, 2023. The report said that Mohit Pandey from Ghaziabad, a student of Dudheshwar Ved Vidyapeeth, is one among the 50 people chosen for the position of priest after 3,000 applicants went through the interview. It also said that the selected candidates will undergo a six-month training before the appointment.

The report also mentioned that after studying at Dudheshwar Ved Vidyapeeth for seven years, Mohit Pandey went to Venkateshwar Vedic University for further studies. It did not mention that Pandey had been selected as chief priest.

Dainik Bhaskar published a video byte of Mahant Narayan Giri Ji of Dudheshwarnath Mandir, informing that Rishab Sharma has been appointed as the teacher and Mohit Pandey as the priest of the Ram Mandir. He did not say that Pandey had been appointed as the chief priest.

An ABP news report on December 6 said that the training for the post of selected candidates will start from Wednesday in the newly constructed office of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in Ayodhya. It also quoted trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri as saying, “Candidates who successfully complete the training will be appointed as priests and posted on various posts after six months of training.”

Shankar Jha, the office in charge of Dudheshwarnath Mandir, speaking to NewsMeter, confirmed the selection of Mohit Pandey as the priest but did not confirm his appointment as head priest of Ram Mandir.

He said, “Thousands of students had applied for the position, and those with Vedic knowledge were only eligible.” He added that only 20 people will be selected and posted on various posts after the six months of training. NewsMeter also reached out to Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra. The article will be updated as and when they respond.

According to the Jansatta report of December 8, Acharya Satyendra Das, 83, is the chief priest of Ram Temple. He has been helming the post for 31 years since 1992.

Hence, we conclude that the claim of Mohit Pandey being appointed as the chief priest of Ram Temple is misleading.