An image of a billboard purportedly of the Aam Aadmi Party is viral on social media. In the billboard it is written in Gujarati, ‘નમાજ પઢશે ગુજરાત” which means, “Now Gujarat will offer namaz”. The content on the billboard further reads, “ભાગવત સપ્તાહ અને સત્યનારાયણની કથા જેવી ફાલતુ પ્રવૃત્તિ છોડો” that translates in English as, “Stop performing Bhagwat Saptah and Satyanarayan Katha”.
The image is viral with the caption that reads, “An AamAadmiParty campaign in Gujarat It reads: “Gujarat padhega namaz. Bhagwat saptah aur Satyanarayan katha/puja jaisi faltu pratha chhodo.” An archive link to the post can be seen here.
Source: Twitter/Screenshot
The post is widely being shared on Facebook.
A link to the above post can be seen here. Similar posts can be seen here, here, here, and here.
FactO Check:
We searched with the keyword and found a similar image of the AAP poster was published by the Twitter handle of AAP Dang district on July 10, 2021, and AAP Bharuch on July 4, 2021.
આજ રોજ ડાંગ જીલ્લા ના વઘઇ તાલુકામાં આમ આદમી પાર્ટી લીગલ સેલ પ્રમુખ ડાંગ, ના નેતૃત્વ માં કાર્ય કરો સાથે પોસ્ટર અભિયાન કરવામાં આવ્યું..#હવે_બદલાશે_ગુજરાત pic.twitter.com/mvydW7KPRL
— AAP DANG DISTRICT | #Mission2022 (@AAP_Dang) July 10, 2021
We compared the viral poster with the original poster of the Aam Aadmi Party and found the below similarities:
- Both posters have images of Isudan Gadhvi on the left side of the poster.
- Both posters have the same phone number mentioned on them.
- Both have the same photo of Arvind Kejriwal, AAP National Convenor.
We also compared both the posters to found below differences:
- In the original poster, it is written ‘હવે બદલાશે ગુજરાત’ (Now Gujarat will change) instead of ‘નમાજ પઢશે ગુજરાત'(Now Gujarat will offer namaz)
- In the original poster, there is a blank space instead of ‘ભાગવત સપ્તાહ અને સત્યનારાયણની કથા જેવી ફાલતુ પ્રવૃત્તિ છોડો’ (Stop performing Bhagwat Saptah and Satyanarayan Katha)
- The original image has a photo of Gopal Italia, which is morphed with the Islamic armed group Ansar al-Islam, Mullah Krekri.
We also found that Aam Aadmi Party has also tweeted to debunk the viral post. They tweeted the juxtaposed image of the original and fake posters. They also said that their party’s legal cell would take action against this.
हम चाहते हैं कि गुजरात की राजनीति हिन्दू – मुसलमान , धर्म – जाति, भारत – पाकिस्तान से हटकर सरकारी शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्य, रोज़गार, अस्पताल, बिजली एवं अन्य सुविधाएं पर आ जाए !! #હવે_બદલાશે_ગુજરાત pic.twitter.com/ObutiD4umJ
— AAP Gujarat । Mission2022 (@AAPGujarat) July 12, 2021
We also found no media reports of AAP promoting Namaz or asking people to stop performing Bhagwat Saptah and Satyanarayan Kathaasking. Hence, the viral poster is fake and misleading.
