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| - Fact Check: Viral video of Yogi Adityanath burning crackers is not from Diwali
In view of the Covid-19 situation, several states had put restrictions on the sale and use of firecrackers during Diwali. Uttar Pradesh was one of them. However, on social media, a collage of two videos has gone viral with the claim that while UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath was burning crackers on Diwali, police on the other hand were arresting people for selling fireworks.
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India Today Fact Check
The video of Yogi burning crackers is from August, ahead of the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. The UP CM did not burn crackers on Diwali this year.
In view of the Covid-19 situation, several states had put restrictions on the sale and use of firecrackers during Diwali. Uttar Pradesh was one of them. However, on social media, a collage of two videos has gone viral with the claim that while UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath was burning crackers on Diwali, police, on the other hand, were arresting people for selling fireworks.
In one window, a girl is seen banging her head against a police van. Text above this video reads, “Father of this girl was arrested by UP police for selling crackers”. On the other window, Yogi is seen lighting a cracker wearing a mask. “CM Yogi Adityanath burning crackers on Diwali”, the text above reads.
Text on top of the video collage says, “Both videos are from Uttar Pradesh”, while
the word “hypocrisy” is mentioned at the bottom. The video collage has been posted by several Facebook and Instagram users.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the viral claim to be misleading. While the arrest of the firecracker trader is true, the video of Yogi burning crackers is not from Diwali. In fact, the UP CM did not burn crackers on Diwali this year.
The archived versions of the posts are saved here, here and here.
Truth behind Yogi’s video
The viral video of Yogi lighting crackers has an ANI logo on it. We found that “ANI UP” had tweeted the video on August 4 this year.
The caption of the tweet reads, “Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lights a firecracker at his official residence in Lucknow as part of ‘deepotsav’, ahead of the foundation stone laying ceremony of #RamTemple in Ayodhya tomorrow.”
#WATCH Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lights a firecracker at his official residence in Lucknow as part of 'deepotsav', ahead of the foundation stone laying ceremony of #RamTemple in Ayodhya tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/YUogsmwXGd
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 4, 2020
Yogi did not burn any crackers on this year’s Diwali on November 14. On November 13, he attended the grand celebration of “Deepotsav 2020” in Ayodhya, where thousands of earthen lamps were lighted, but no crackers were seen to be burnt.
On Diwali, Yogi attended several events, but there is no credible news report which confirms that he celebrated the day by burning firecrackers.
Truth behind the trader’s arrest
The viral video of the little girl banging her head against a police van pleading cops to release her father who was selling crackers is from Bulandshahr.
Soon after the video went viral on social media and in mainstream media, Yogi ordered the release of the man. He called the police behaviour “insensitive” and sent Diwali sweets to the family.
Uttar Pradesh enforced massive restrictions on the sale and use of firecrackers on Diwali this year, with a blanket ban in 13 cities, including Lucknow.
Therefore, we can conclude that though the video of UP police arresting a trader for selling fireworks is true, the one showing Yogi burning crackers is not from Diwali but on the eve of the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Ram temple at Ayodhya.
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