Fact Check: Old image of Udayanidhi visiting Guru in Mutt wrongly shared as recent incident

A picture of DMK minister, Udhayanidhi Stalin with a Hindu guru at the Dharmapuram Adeenam in Tamil Nadu is being shared online claiming to show a recent interaction between the two.

The picture is being shared after Udhayanidhi made a controversial statement on the 'abolition of Sanatana Dharma' by equating it with diseases like “dengue, malaria and COVID-19”.

The claim when translated reads: "Hey Sanatan crusader what are you doing here?” "I haven't come as a minister, I have come in a personal capacity."

FACT CHECK:

A reverse image search led to finding news reports from November 2020 carrying similar images. According to Vikatan and Dinamalar, Udhayanidhi visited Dharmapuram Adheenam in November 2020. Udhayanidhi visited the guru while he was campaigning for the state elections.

We compared the images in the reports with the viral image and found similarities. The viral photo was photoshopped to edit the background.

Similar pictures of Stalin's interaction with the Hindu seer were posted on Udhayanidhi Stalin's official Facebook account dated 22 November 2020.

Evidently, the viral image is old and dates back to November 2020 when Udhayanidhi Stalin visited Dharmapuram Adeenam to seek blessing of the Hindu guru. It was not taken after Udhayanidhi passed statements on the 'abolition of Sanatana Dharma'