A viral letter claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Yogi Adityanath, chief minister, Uttar Pradesh (UP) for his contribution towards laying the foundation of a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation), is fake.
BOOM had previously debunked a similar fake letter that was circulating in August 2020, with similar text. A new fake letter dated March 5, 2021 has now surfaced online. The fake letter also claims that the Uttar Pradesh government's proposal for an international airport in Ayodhya has been approved by the central government.
The viral letter addressed to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister reads, "Let me begin by congratulating you and your team for your precious contribution to the Hindu Rashtra . Your proposal for an international airport in Ayodhya has been approved by me. About Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated to the Ayodhya district administration by the state government.."
It further reads, "Hindus will always be grateful to you and your team for your honest and steady hard work towards the milestone of saffronisation ( Hindu History), which is a major pillar of Hindu Rashtra . I wish you and your team the very best for your future Elections 2022 and once again congratulate you for this remarkable achievement."
Viral on Twitter
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Click here to view, and here for an archive.
BOOM also received a link to a post that had the fake letter on our WhatsApp helpline number (7700906111) inquiring whether it is genuine.
Also Read: Fake Letter Claims PM Modi Endorses Giriraj Singh As Next Bihar CM
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found several discrepancies in the viral letter including similar sentences copied from other fake letters in the past. There are grammatical mistakes in the latest fake letter too.
We found that most text on the viral letter including the first sentence, "Let me begin by congratulating you and your team for your precious contribution to the Hindu Rashtra," exactly match with another fake letter that was circulating in August 2020, that claimed to be written by PM Modi to CM Adityanath.
Also Read: Fake Letter Claims PM Modi Thanked UP CM For Supporting Hindu Rashtra
We then compared the fake viral letter to a letter by Modi to Adityanath offering condolences after the latter's father passed away. The letter was written on April 20, 2020, in Hindi with Modi's signature in Devanagari script.
The fake letter says, "Dear Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath" while most official letters by Modi show that he uses honorifics like 'Shri' or 'ji', as in the condolence letter. Even in the August 2020, letter written to the UP CM by PM Modi, he addressed his as Shree Yogi Ji in Hindi.
Secondly, the address of the UP CM is missing in the viral letter, whereas in official letters the address of the recipient is written at the bottom, for example below in a letter to Suresh Raina by PM Modi.
Additionally, The Uttar Pradesh government's fact-check Twitter handle also called the viral letter fake.