In the lead-up to the Maharashtra assembly elections, several Hindutva social media accounts, including those of BJP lawmakers, circulated false claims that the Waqf Board had laid claim to the Shree Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai.
One such claim was made by BJP MLA Nitesh Rane, who shared a Marathi graphic on his Instagram profile stating, “The Waqf board also claims Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai.” In his caption, Rane added, “This is why one should say no to UBT and Congress.”
The earliest instance of this claim on X (formerly Twitter) was posted on November 18. It featured the same graphic, bearing the logo of Sakal News (archive available), according to Alt News. The posts by Hindutva accounts on X quickly gained traction, amassing over a million views.
A known hate speech propagator on X, @MrSinha_, posted, “…They’re getting out of hand. They need to be stopped…” In another tweet, the account urged the BJP to aggressively promote the narrative of the “Waqf board’s claim on Siddhivinayak Temple.” Right-wing journalist Abhijit Majumder also amplified the viral graphic.
Fact-Check:
Responding to the widespread posts carrying its logo, Sakal clarified on its official Facebook page that it had not created or published any such content.
“Currently, a misleading creative titled ‘Waqf Board’s claim over Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple’ is going viral on social media, allegedly under the name of ‘Sakal’. However, Sakal has not created any such creative. Some individuals have used a template and logo similar to Sakal’s creative style to make this mischief,” the outlet stated.
Additionally, Pawan Tripathi, the treasurer of the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust and Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mumbai unit, refuted the claims in a video statement.
“Shree Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai is a symbol of pride and honour. It holds immense reverence among all Sanatanis living across the world. Therefore, no board or organization will ever be able to take over Shree Siddhivinayak Temple. It belongs to the devotees of Lord Ganesh and will always remain for them,” Tripathi said.
