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| - Fact Check: No, Jagan Mohan Reddy has not changed his religion
A few Facebook users posted a video of Jagan Mohan Reddy observing some Hindu rituals, claiming that he has converted to Hinduism. The YSRCP chief is a Christian by faith.
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India Today Fact Check
Jagan Mohan Reddy has not changed his religion. This is an old video.
After a massive win in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections from Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Party chief and chief minister-elect Jaganmohan Reddy is making headlines once again, but this time for viral videos on social media questioning his faith.
A few Facebook users posted a video of Jagan Reddy observing some Hindu rituals, claiming that he has converted to Hinduism. The YSRCP chief is a Christian by faith.
India Today’s Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found the video to be completely false.
On May 25, Facebook user Manoj Nair posted a video claiming Jagan Reddy has embraced Hinduism. He wrote, "Jagan Reddy is reconverted to Hinduism by Swarupanamda Saraswati. The Swami fixed the date of his swearing-in ceremony on May 30th."
At the time of writing this article, the post had been shared by more than 400 users.
In the 10-minute video, Jagan Reddy could be seen in traditional Hindu religious attire along with some priests. He is seen taking instructions from the priests and observing Hindu rituals and offering puja.
The archive of the video can be seen here.
The post was widely shared on Facebook. Other social media users such as Arun Dorasamy and Shivatamasubramanians Iyer have also shared the post.
AFWA did a reverse search of the video and found it to be an old one.
It was a video of Jagan Reddy performing Homam, a special puja, in Rishikesh on August 10, 2016. He prayed for the welfare of people and sought Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh. He prayed to Goddess Ganga and performed Hindu rituals with Swaroopananda Swamy.
Later, he donated food to saints and pandits at the site. The event was widely covered by media organisations and also found mention in the YSRCP website.
On Saturday, in an interview with India Today TV, when asked about his past relationship with the Congress, Jagan Reddy said, I pray and read my Bible. It’s for God to decide.
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