A viral news graphic circulating online claims that Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut promised higher financial assistance for Muslim women if his party came to power in Maharashtra. However, this graphic is morphed and fake. BOOM verified that the graphic, which features the logo of Marathi news outlet Pudhari News, is fabricated. Pudhari News confirmed to BOOM that they never published such a statement attributed to Raut and clarified that the font used in the graphic is not theirs.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance—comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar)—has announced in its manifesto a plan to double financial assistance for women under the “Ladki Bahin Yojana” from ?1,500 to ?3,000. This scheme was originally introduced by the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Maharashtra’s assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, 2024, with results to be declared on November 23.
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The viral graphic has the logo of Pudhari News and resembles a similar news template to the outlet. The news graphic carries a photo of Raut from a press conference with the caption when translated from Marathi reading, “If Uddhav Thackeray becomes the Chief Minister again, then he will give Rs 3000/- to his beloved sisters and he will give Muslim women Rs 6000/- per month under the Nutritional Diet Scheme as their fertility rate is high.”
(In Marathi -????? ????? ??? ??????????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ????/- ????? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????????? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ????/- ????? ?????.)
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BOOM also received the viral graphic on our WhatsApp tipline number (7700906588) inquiring about it.
FACT-CHECK: Fake news graphic with fabricated Sanjay Raut quote
BOOM found that the viral news graphic is fake, and Sanjay Raut has not made any such statement promising more financial assistance to Muslim women if Uddhav Thackeray becomes the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The news bulletin text font on the viral graphic has a different contrast which stands out from the text on the bottom. This indicates that the text has been edited into the graphic.
BOOM reached out to Tulsidas Bhoite, Editor of Pudhari News, who confirmed that the viral graphic is fake and the Marathi outlet has not ran any such report quoting Raut. “This is fake, also the text font used in the graphic is not used by Pudhari News”, Bohite told BOOM. In the below video posted by Pudhari News covering Raut’s press conference on November 13, 2024, we can notice that the template and text font is different from the one used the fake news graphic. This can be seen from the 3 minutes timestamp.
Additionally, Raut has not made any statement stating that Muslim women would be given 6000 rupees per month under a “Nutritional Diet Scheme” as being falsely claimed in the graphic. The MVA’s manfiesto also does not mention any such promise to give higher financial assistance to Muslim women compared to the beneficiaries of the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’.
This story is republished from Boom as part of the Shakti Collective. Read the original story here.