On Friday (8th March), YouTuber Elvish Yadav shared a video from his X handle furnishing an explanation after netizens slammed him over his photo with anti-Hindu comedian Munawar Faruqui that had gone viral a day ago.
Elvish Yadav and Munawar Faruqui participated in a charity cricket match of the Indian Street Premier League in Mumbai on 7th March. A photograph of both of them together during the match had gone viral on social media. In his video, Elvish Yadav rubbished the allegations against him by netizens calling him a fake Hindu for his seemingly warm interaction with anti-Hindu comedian Munawar Faruqui.
In this charity match, Elvish Yadav was playing for Sachin Tendulkar’s team ‘Master 11’ while Munawar Faruqui was a part of Akshay Kumar’s team ‘Khiladi 11’. Munawar Faruqui hit a sixer off Elvish Yadav who then went on to bowl three no-balls and two wide balls before getting the anti-Hindu comedian out. After getting Faruqui’s wicket, Elvish Yadav was seen hugging Munawar Faruqui from behind in a sporting gesture as the batter walked off the field.
When the pictures of this instance went viral, Elvish Yadav received multiple criticising messages and comments on various social media handles and posts. One X user Yash Vyas wrote, “Shame on Elvish. Traitor Hindu Elvish Yadav should come to know the anger of Hindus. He said he is a staunch Hindu, enjoyed votes, money and fame on account of Hindus and now he is hugging anti-Hindu Munawar Faruqui. Show him his place.”
ShameOnElvish @ElvishYadav
— yash vyas (Modi Ka Parivar) (@yashvyas821) March 8, 2024
Gaddar Hindu Elvish yadav ko Hindus ka gussa pata chalna chaiye
Apne ap ko kattar Hindu bata k Hinduon se vote le k fame kama k paisa kama k Anti Hindu munawar k sath gala laga k hasne wale ko Aukaat dikhao
Harish Mali wrote, “How can someone smile with a man who is against Lord Ram?”
रामद्रोही के साथ कोई कैसे मुस्कुरा सकता है? pic.twitter.com/527I10OT2t
— Harish Mali (@HarishMali06) March 7, 2024
After receiving multiple such comments, Elvish Yadav posted from his X handle, “If you start finding fault, you will find fault in everything. Live with love and move ahead.” Munawar Faruqui reshared it with a heart emoji.
— munawar faruqui (@munawar0018) March 7, 2024
On 8th March, Elvish Yadav posted a video explaining this incident. In this video, he said, “The Indian Street Premier League invited me for a charity match. Many celebrities were playing in this tournament. I have charged zero rupees for the match. We practised for two days and then I played the match. People have accused me of compromising on Hinduism by playing in this match for money. Let me tell them, I have not taken any money from this match.”
Shame #ShameOnElvish pic.twitter.com/21DSXhdCV1
— Randomsena (@randomsena) March 8, 2024
He added, “People are also trolling me for hugging Munawar Faruqui. I should clarify that I was not hugging him. I was poking him. It was a sporty gesture during the game when I took his wicket. Before that, he hit a sixer off my bowling. At that time he even hit the bat on the pitch and teased me. When I took his wicket, I poked him and laughed. It was just that. Nothing else. Still, people have criticised me saying that I am friends with an anti-Hindu and therefore I am also anti-Hindu.”
Elvish Yadav further said, “Mere photographs with someone does not make you anti-Hindu. Sachin Tendulkar is a great player. He is a staunch nationalist as well. He played and won so many matches for our country. Will you call him anti-Hindu for this? Akshay Kumar has so many photos and videos of his interaction with PM Modi. Munawar Faruqui played in his team. Will you call Akshay Kumar an anti-Hindu or a fake Hindu now?”
🙏🏻❤️Happy Mahashivratri pic.twitter.com/pZ70IfIaqu
— Elvish Yadav (@ElvishYadav) March 8, 2024
Elvish Yadav said, “Random people hiding their identities have come to X spaces and other platforms to accuse me of being anti-Hindu and earning money by compromising religion. They have abused me and my fans in the name of mothers and sisters. Nobody needs to give me a certificate of how Hindu I am. I have not abused anyone in my space. I said that abuse is not good. Unknown people asking me to apologise for being a fake Hindu. Why should I apologise and for what reason should I? Who has given them the right to call me a fake Hindu? Whoever feels so is free to unfollow me. Why abuse me and my fans and then expect an apology from me? Declare all those who were involved in that event as anti-Hindu and fake Hindus. Shame on Elvish was trending yesterday. What next? What difference does it make? Will you bear useless abuse if someone abuses you as these people abused me?”
In another incident, a social media user who goes by the handle @maxtern took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and shared a video stating that he was assaulted by 8-10 goons purportedly sent by Elvish Yadav. Maxtern also stated that Yadav has also threatened to kill him. According to him, Bigg Boss winner Elvish Yadav reportedly sent 8 to 10 men to assault a social media user who mocked him over his pictures with Hinduphobic ‘comedian’ Munawar Faruqui during the ongoing inaugural season of the Indian Street Premier League 2024.
8-10 Elvish’s man vs Maxtern!
— Maxtern (@RealMaxtern) March 7, 2024
Video shubhah daalta kya ladaee hui h ! pic.twitter.com/HsKyrVmREr
The saga commenced when Maxtern posted a sarcastic video poking fun at Elvish’s camaraderie with comedian Munawar Faruqui during the recent Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) cricket match. In the video, Maxtern teased Elvish and implied he was a hypocrite for associating with Munawar, despite proudly identifying as a ‘Ram bhakt’. Munawar faced severe criticism in 2020 for ridiculing Lord Ram and Goddess Sita during one of his stand-up performances.
When Maxtern brought attention to this, Elvish replied on X saying, “Bhai tu Delhi hi rehta hai socha yad dila du,” which appeared to be a veiled threat.
