PM Modi Encouraged Hindus To Dig Mosques To Find Hindu Temples Underneath? No, Viral Claim Is False

A cropped 23-second video has been going viral on social media, with people sharing it out-of-context. It is a clip of an old speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he speaks about digging up mosques in Uttar Pradesh.

It is being shared with the claim that the Prime Minister is asking people to dig places where mosques are, to find temple. This comes amidst the ongoing Gyanvapi dispute, and people are peddling the video as a means to justify the digging up of the mosque.

The viral video shows Modi giving a speech to the crowd, saying "अरे हमारा तो उत्तर प्रदेश ऐसा है, यहां भी खुदा वहां भी खुदा... यहां भी खुदा, उधर भी खुदा जहां नहीं खुदा है वहां कल खुदेगा|"

[Rough translation: Our Uttar Pradesh is such, that it is dug up here and dug up there..it is dug up here and also dug up there, and wherever it's not dug up, it will be soon.]

A Facebook user shared this video and wrote a caption in Hindi which reads, "जहाँ नही खुदा है वहां कल खुदेगा."

[English Translation: Wherever it's not dug up, digging will be taken up soon.]

A Twitter user shared this video and wrote, "वाह मोदी जी वाह, इशारों इशारों में ही पूरी स्कीम बता गये थे | आपने तो खुदा की भी खुदाई कर डाली| #ज्ञानवापी_खाली_करो #ज्ञानवापी_मंदिर #ज्ञानवापी_में_शिवलिंग #काशी"

[English Translation: Wow Modi ji, you had told the whole scheme in gestures. You have dug even God. #evacuate Gyanvapi]

BJP MLA T Raja Singh also shared this video and wrote, "मोदी जी ने तो पहले ही कहा था , कहा खु दा नही है वहा बाद में खोद देंगे."

[English Translation: Modi ji had already said that wherever it hasn't been dug, it will be dug up later.]

It is being widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.

Claim:

Prime Minister encouraged people to dug up mosques to find Hindu temples underneath.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. The viral video is from 2017 and presented out of context.

During the initial investigation, we extracted different keyframes from the viral video using the InVid tool and conducted a Google reverse image search. It led us to a report of News18 dated March 2017 in which similar footage can be seen. According to the report, the viral video is of PM Modi's rally when he was addressing a public meeting in Varanasi during the 2017 UP assembly elections. During this, he lashed out at the previous governments. He said, "Banaras cannot be compared with any city in the world. The amount of work I can do for Banaras is less. All the previous governments that came in UP did small things for Banaras. These small works will not change the picture of Banaras. Banaras needs rejuvenation." While talking about the condition of roads, he said, "I have been roaming in Uttar Pradesh, especially after becoming an MP...and our MPs come to meet me. Their talking style is very funny. They say, "sir, you don't know about Uttar Pradesh. I said, tell me. Arey, our Uttar Pradesh is such that, "It has been dug up here, it has been dug up there. It has been dug here, it has been dug up over there and wherever it hasn't been dug, it will be dug up soon". Now, who has made this condition."

News18 had also shared this video on their official Facebook channel. At 4:40 seconds of the timestamp, one can see the same footage as seen in the viral video.

In further investigation, we found the whole speech on the YouTube channel of the Bhartiya Janata Party. It was uploaded on 05 March 2017. It is to be noted the Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav was in power in UP from 2012 to March 2017. On March 11, 2017, after the results of the UP were declared, BJP formed the government by winning 325 seats.

It is evident from our investigation that the viral video is from 2017 during the UP assembly election where PM Modi had criticized the then SP government for dilapidated road conditions in Uttar Pradesh. He did not make any statement on the disputed Gyanvapi mosque site. Hence, the viral claim is false.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at +91 6364000343.

Also Read: This Video Shows Hindu Devotees Celebrating Gyanvapi Mosque Verdict? No, Viral Claim Is False