New Delhi, August 9: The Press Information Bureau (PIB), the government's official media arm, was compelled to issue a note of clarification after the image of a fake letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath went viral. In the letter which was confirmed as "fake" by the PIB, it was stated that Modi would send Rs 50 crore to the UP government for early construction of the Ram temple.
The fake letter further quoted the Prime Minister as lauding Adityanath for striving towards the "Hindu Rashtra" agenda, and also wished him the best for the 2022 assembly elections. FIR Lodged by UP Police Over Recorded Messages Asking Muslims to Stop PM Modi From Unfurling Indian Flag on August 15.
The fake news peddlers apparently attempted to stoke communal tensions, as their designed letter quoted Modi as saying that Hindus would be grateful to the Adityanath government for the efforts taken so far in his tenure.
After the letter began going viral on Facebook, the PIB Fact Check handle on social media took cognisance and issued a clarification. It was categorically noted that no such letter was issued to the Uttar Pradesh CM by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
See PIB Fact Check's Tweet
Claim: A Facebook user, has posted a letter, allegedly written by PM @narendramodi to Chief Minister of #UttarPradesh @myogiadityanath#PIBFactCheck: This letter is #Fake pic.twitter.com/9dHdcEEMu4
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) August 9, 2020
The fake letter was circulated amid the transmission of audio recordings on WhatsApp, asking Indian Muslims to prevent PM Modi from hurling the national flag at tricolour on the occasion of Independence Day 2020. LatestLY appealed to readers to exercise caution and refrain from forwarding news received via social media without verifying the same.
Fact check
Letter shows PM Modi informing UP CM Yogi Adityanath that he is sending Rs 50 crore for early construction of Ram temple
Fake news. No such letter was issued from the PMO, clarified the PIB.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 09, 2020 09:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).