Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday peddled fake news against UP CM Yogi Adityanath, alleging that he called Lord Hanuman a Dalit who cannot be worshipped. The Shiv Sena leader made the statement on 30th April 2022 when he was asked for a reaction to Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey’s remarks that ‘Even Balasaheb Thackeray would be shedding tears to see his party’s government arresting people for reciting Hanuman Chalisa.’
Responding to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey’s remarks, Sanjay Raut said, “That Choubey or whosoever be the person, he should not worry about Balasaheb Thackeray. These people are conspiring to divide this country by inciting riots over the Hanuman Chalisa issue. Shiv Sena is fighting against them. Balasaheb Thackeray would be showering flowers on us for this.”
Video : Sanjay Raut On Balasaheb Thackeray | बाळासाहेबांच्या डोळ्यात अश्रू नव्हे तर त्यांनी फुलं उधळली असती – tv9#SanjayRaut #Shivsena #MP #RajThackeray #MNS #BalasahebThackeray #Bhonge #Loudspeaker #Mumbai #Maharashtra
— TV9 Marathi (@TV9Marathi) April 30, 2022
अधिक बातम्यांसाठी क्लिक करा https://t.co/EXaQRyeJh9 pic.twitter.com/kyslQYeVF7
Sanjay Raut further said, “What did honourable Yogi Adityanath say about Lord Hanuman? Yogi Adityanath is the Chief Minister of the state Ashwini Kumar Choubey belongs to. He said Hanuman is a Dalit person. He said there is no need to worship him. He said Hanuman is not God. He said Hanuman is a wild monkey or something like that. Since when did he become a devotee of Bajrang Bali? Leave it. If I start telling things, it will create a mess.”
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has spread fake news against @myogiadityanath.
— Maha Vinash Aghadi ᴾᵃʳᵒᵈʸ (@MVAGovt) April 30, 2022
CM Yogi Adityanath never had said that “Hanumanji was a Dalit and that no pooja should be done of him”.
Request @Uppolice to take suomoto action against Sanjay Raut.@UPPViralCheck @InfoUPFactCheck https://t.co/XIZETNsVX1 pic.twitter.com/g2KynIIPaw
Sanjay Raut concluded by saying, “If someone making such statements is trying to teach us, then Ashwini Kumar Chaube should once again recite Yogi Chalisa. He should write one first. We know what Lord Hanuman is. Maharashtra is a state that worships Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman. So don’t worry about Balasaheb Thackeray. If at all he would be having a tear or two in his eyes today, it is because you people betrayed his Shiv Sena.”
How news organisations misinterpreted Yogi Adityanath’s statements on Lord Hanuman
The statement by Yogi Adityanath which Sanjay Raut is referring to is from 28th November 2018 when Yogi Adityanath was campaigning in Rajasthan for the BJP candidates in the assembly elections of 2018. He was campaigning for Ram Kishan who was then a BJP candidate for the Alwar assembly seat. Yogi Adityanath said, “Bajrang Bali is such a God of masses, who himself lives in mountains and forests. Be it a Dalit or a deprived person, everyone including all the Indians right from East to West and from North to South, Bajrang Bali unites them all. ” This is seen from 00:17 onwards in the following video.
While Yogi did call Lord Hanuman a god who lives in the forest, he did not call Him a Dalit. He, in fact, said that how Lord Hanuman does not discriminate amongst his devotees and takes all strata of people along.
As can be heard above, Yogi Adityanath said, “In Indian tradition, Bajrangbali is loved by all, lives in a forest and has no place to call it home. The Dalits, the deprived, He (Lord Hanuman) takes them all, everyone in the Indian community, from the north to the south, from the east to the west, together. Bajrangbali has carried out the task of uniting everyone. Hence, (voting for BJP) should be a Bajrangi sankalp (vow). Unlike Times Now, which has misquoted Yogi Adityanath.
While Yogi did call Lord Hanuman a god who lives in the forest, he did not call Him a Dalit. He, in fact, said that how Lord Hanuman does not discriminate against his devotees and takes all strata of people along.
