No, this photo does not show Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wearing shoes inside a temple

This article is more than one year old.
Published on May 24, 2019 at 11:36
Updated on May 24, 2019 at 11:36
3 min read
By AFP India

A photo of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been shared tens of thousands times in multiple posts on Facebook and Twitter alongside a claim it shows him wearing shoes inside a temple on his recent visit to a Hindu shrine Kedarnath. The claim is false; video and photos of the May 18, 2019 posted by Modi and Indian media show he was wearing socks and not shoes.

The photo was published here in a Facebook post on May 19, 2019, and it has been shared more than 15,000 times.

The post's Hindi language caption translates to English as: “King of Hindu hearts is going to Baba’s temple wearing shoes.”

“King of Hindu hearts” is a reference to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Here is his official Twitter page and here is a report that describes him as ‘King of Hindu hearts’.

“Baba” refers to Hindu deity Lord Shiva. Modi recently visited a temple dedicated to Shiva in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand. Here is a report on the May 18, 2019 visit to the Kedarnath temple, in which Modi describes Lord Shiva as ‘Baba Kedarnath’ while talking to reporters outside the shrine.

Below is a screenshot of the misleading Facebook post:

Snapshot of the misleading Facebook post

The photo has also been shared here, here and here on Facebook, and here, here and here on Twitter with an identical claim.

The claim is false. A careful examination of photographs published by Indian media and posted on Prime Minister Mod’s official Twitter page here and website here, show that Modi was wearing socks not shoes inside the temple.

Below are two screenshots of two images shared on Modi’s Twitter page on May 18, 2019. The first image (L) shows wearing wearing a pair of black shoes outside outside the temple; in the second image (R) he can be seen walking out of the temple wearing socks.

Screenshots of images shared on Modi’s Twitter page

Below are two close up images of his feet taken from the above pictures:

Close up images of Modi's feet

In a video published on Narendra Modi’s official website here, a pair of thick woolen socks can be seen next to a sofa where Modi stopped to remove his shoes before entering the temple.

Below is a screenshot of the sofa and socks:

Snapshot of the video published on Modi's official website

Modi’s black shoes also be seen next to the sofa in this video published on India’s state-run broadcaster Rajya Sabha TV on May 18, 2019.

Below is a screenshot showing the shoes next to the sofa:

Screenshot of the video report by Rajya Sabha TV

Modi can be seen sitting on the sofa and removing his shoes and putting on the thick woolen socks at 8:32 in this video, published on the YouTube channel of India’s national broadcaster DD News on May 17, 2019.</a></p> </body></html>

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