Fact Check: Not Ram Mandir! Sea of devotees from 2023 Rath Yatra in Odisha
India Today found that the viral image dates back to June 2023 and shows the Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri.
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India Today Fact Check
This image dates back to June 2023 and shows the Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri
Following the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, a photo of a street allegedly jampacked with devotees in the holy city went viral on social media. Tamil Nadu’s Bharatiya Janata Party state general secretary Raama Sreenivasan shared the photo on Facebook claiming it was shot at 6 pm on January 22.
India Today found that the viral image dates back to June 2023 and shows the Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri.
OUR PROBE
A quick reverse search of the viral image led us to a Facebook post by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on June 20, 2023. This post contained several photos. These photos, per the CM, were from the 2023 Rath Yatra in Badadanda in Odisha’s Puri district. Badadanda is an area close to the famous Jagannath Temple in the state. One of these photos was the viral one.
NDTV also used the viral photo in a visual story about the 2023 Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra.
India Today’s Odisha correspondent Ajay Nath also confirmed that this image was from Odisha’s 2023 Rath Yatra, adding, “This place falls in the route of Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra.”
Thus, it’s clear that this photo is not from Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya at all.
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