By: Rajeswari Parasa
December 15 2023
Video of PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah's virtual meeting with Hindu priest is edited
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Screenshot of the viral claim (Source: X/Screenshot/Logically Facts Editing)
Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The original video is from a review meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Balasore train accident in Odisha this June.
Claim ID 1fd830aa
What is the claim?
A video purportedly showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other officials attentively participating in a teleconference with Hindu priest Premanand Govind Maharaj has been circulating online. A user shared this video with a Hindi caption stating, “Listen to the full video and share it for the country's benefit. Pay heed to Maharaj Shri's words! Including Modiji, everyone is listening. Jai Shri Ram.”
As of December 14, this video post has garnered approximately 348,000 views and 2,700 reposts. Several other accounts are also sharing this video with similar claims. Archived versions of such posts can be accessed here and here.
However, this claim is misleading as the video is fabricated.
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Screenshot of the viral claim (Source: Facebook/Screenshot/Logically Facts Editing)
What are the facts?
A reverse image search revealed a similar 19-second video posted by the official All India Radio News account on June 3. The AIR captioned this post as, “#OdishaTrainAccident: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a high-level meeting to review the situation following the rail accident in #Balasore. Sources indicate PM Modi's visit to Odisha today. #BalasoreTrainAccident”.
In the original video, a presentation about the digital representation of train signals can be seen on the TV screen in the room instead of the Hindu priest.
Screenshot of the post made by All India Radio on the review meeting (Source: X/screenshot)
ABP News Live also covered this meeting, publishing a report titled, “Coromandel Express Accident: PM Modi Convenes High-Level Meeting To Review Situation” on June 3, 2023, featuring a similar image.
Screenshot of the news report published in ABP News Live (Source: ABP News Live/screenshot)
We found no credible media reports that suggested Modi and Shah met Premanand Govind Maharaj in an official setting.
Additionally, a closer examination reveals RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on the television screen in the viral video, alongside the priest, at approximately 2:14. The priest appears to be facing Bhagwat's direction, and not towards the officials.
Screenshot of the viral video, with RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on the TV screen. (Source: X/screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)
Subsequent searches using relevant keywords led us to visuals of their actual meeting. The Bhajan Marg YouTube channel uploaded a video of their conversation on November 29, 2023. The same image of Bhagwat seen in the viral video also appears in this video from their recent meeting.
The Verdict:
The claim uses visuals from two separate incidents – a high-level review meeting and a meeting between RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat and a Hindu priest – and combines them in an edited format. Therefore, we categorize this claim as false.