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Did Maharashtra's MVA Govt Decorate Bus With Pakistan's Flag To Appease Muslims? No, Viral Claim Is False!
Maharashtra, 23 May 2022 10:26 AM GMT
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A video of a bus decorated with garlands, and an Islamic flag has gone viral across social media. This image is being shared with the claim that the bus is meant to appease Muslims in Maharashtra.
A video of a bus decorated with garlands, and an Islamic flag has gone viral across social media. This image is being shared with the claim that the bus is meant to appease Muslims in Maharashtra.
The video is being shared in the context of the politics surrounding the loudspeaker ban in mosques in Maharashtra led by Maharashtra Navanirman Sena. The Maha Vikas Agadi, comprising of the Indian National Congress, Congress and the Shiv Sena, is currently ruling the state and they are being accused of being anti-hindu.
Claim:
The viral video shows a bus being transported out of a bus station which is decorated with garlands and an Islamic flag. The video shows the bus from several angles with people walking alongside the bus in a parade. An Islamic priest can be seen sitting at the front of the bus.
The caption claims that this incident took place in Maharashtra, where the Uddhav Thackeray Government in alliance with NCP and Congress are indulging in Muslim appeasement. The caption claims that the video was shot in the Osmanabad Bus Depot where the bus has been decorated with the Pakistani Flag.
A Facebook user shared this video and wrote a caption which reads, "In Maharashtra, the Uddhavuddin Thackeray Govt in alliance with NCP and Congress has gone to the heights of appeasement..In Osmanabad Bus Depot ..A New Bus has been decorated in the name of Nabi and Pakistan Flag ..singing the praise of Allah.......Can you imagine that is happening in Maharashtra.....A sizeable Dalit population in Vidharbha districts never objects to this blatant appeasement but are comfortable and cooperative with these divisive politics of Maha Vikas Aghadi."
It is being widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian fact check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. The viral video shows the decoration of a bus which has been followed for years on the occasion of Urs.
We went through the video carefully and noticed the sign on the bus that reads, "Osmanabad Division" in Marathi. On top of the bus, we noticed the written sign "Gazi Express". Accordingly, we conducted a keyword search with the relevant keywords such as "Osmanabad Bus". We came across this post on Facebook by user Osmanabad-Dharashiv uploaded on June 5, 2021. This indicated that the decoration of the bus is not a recent occurrence but also took place in 2021. The bus in this picture shared several similarities with the one that is noticed in the viral video.
We also came across a post by a Facebook user, Nagesh Sutar, uploaded on April 16, 2017. The post's caption read that the bus was decorated on the occasion of Urs. In the comment section, we came across an interaction in which the user clarified that the bus was decorated on the occasion of Urs which takes place in Osmanabad.
Urs or Urus is celebrated on the occasion of the passing away of a Sufi Saint in Islam. In Osmanabad, a dargah of a revered religious figure of Khwaja Shamsuddin Gazi is located. As per IndianTrip.com, The Urs of Kwaja Shamshoddin Gazi festival is celebrated in the city in the month of Rajab in Islam.
We also noticed that in the video what is noted as a Pakistani flag is actually an Islamic flag. There is no white strip as seen in the Pakistan's flag. Below you can see the comparison.
For further information, we contacted Navneet Kanwat, Addl. Superintendent of Police, Osmanabad. While refuting the viral claim, he said, "It's a practice that has been going on for the past 30 years. It went on till 2019, after which it was halted due to Covid. It's an initiative of the staff of the official Bus Stand. They have a committee, which has people of different communities. They do this in the duration of Urs, and there's false news of there being a Pakistan flag, it is just a form of respect to the Muslim religion. It's just that, there's nothing political."
It is evident from our investigation the viral video shows the decoration of a bus which has been followed for years on the occasion of Urs celebrated on the passing away of a Sufi Saint in Islam. The flag hoisted on the bus is not a Pakistani flag but an Islamic flag. This practice has been going on for the last 30 years. The earliest post we could find of the decorated bus is dated 2017 whereas the Maha Vikas Aghadi was formed in 2019 after the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray. It has nothing to do with the Maharashtra government or Muslim appeasement theory. Hence, the viral claim is false.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
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