No, President Kovind Didn't Bow Down Before Yogi Adityanath

The image shows President Ram Nath Kovind bowing and touching the soil to pay obeisance to his birth land in UP.

President Ram Nath Kovind bowed and touched the soil to pay obeisance to his birth land in Uttar Pradesh on June 27. UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel received him.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A post is being shared on the internet to insinuate that President Ram Nath Kovind bowed down before Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The post is being shared with a story talking about 'slave mentality'.

However, we found that although the photo is an actual one, the claim of the post is misleading. The President, who is on a five-day visit to Uttar Pradesh, landed at the helipad near his village, Paraunkh of Kanpur Dehat district, on June 27 and touched the soil to pay obeisance to his birth land.

CLAIM

A social media user shared the picture with a claim in Hindi that went on to narrate a story about a district officer who belonged to an oppressed caste and how he bowed before a priest without touching his feet.

The user goes on to draw parallels between the story and the president's photo and added that 'the slave mentality never leaves one'.

An archived version of the post  can be accessed here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

Social media users shared the misleading claim and the archived version of the link can be accessed here and another post shared in Marathi can be found here.

WHAT WE FOUND

The photograph was posted by the official Twitter handle of 'President of India' on June 27 when President Kovind landed at the helipad near his village in Uttar Pradesh.

The photo was captioned, "In a rare emotional gesture, after landing at the helipad near his village, Paraunkh of Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh, President Ram Nath Kovind bowed and touched the soil to pay obeisance to the land of his birth."

Kovind is on a five-day visit to UP, which began on June 25, when he reached Kanpur in a special presidential train. It is after a gap of 15 years that an incumbent president is making a train journey.

Further, while addressing a Jan Abhinandan Samaroh in Kanpur Dehat on June 27, Kovind said, "I have always wanted to visit my birth place, it's been years now I have waited. So, when I got down from the helicopter, I touched the soil of my birth land and prayed that though it has been late this time, this won't happen in the future and that I can come back soon."

Clearly, a misleading post with a casteist spin was shared to insinuate that Kovind bowed down before the Uttar Pradesh CM.

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