Sanjay Raut Didn't Call Uddhav Thackeray 'King of Muslim Hearts'; Quote Is Fake

Lokmat clarified that this viral image is an altered one and Raut made no such statement about Thackeray.

Fact-check: An altered image is being shared to claim that Sanjay Raut called Uddhav Thackeray a 'King of Muslims' heart'.

(Photo: The Quint)

A Marathi quote purportedly made by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut is going viral on social media. In it, Raut calls former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray a 'king of Muslim hearts' (Muslim Hriday Samrat).

The quote is being shared with Lokmat's logo and template, and it reads in Marathi, "What is the point if people call Uddhav Thackeray 'the emperor of Muslim hearts'? The son of a Hindu heart can also be 'the emperor' of another religion. - Sanjay Raut"

An archive of the post can be found here.

This comes ahead of the Assembly elections that are scheduled in Maharashtra for 20 November, with results set to be announced on 23 November.

What's the truth?: Raut has not made such a statement.

• Lokmat also clarified that this viral image is an altered one.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a relevant keyword search on Google and found no reports about Raut making this statement about Thackeray.

• We also checked Raut's social media handles and found no such remark being made.

• Next, we checked Lokmat's social media pages for this viral image but found none. Instead, we found several other similar templates of Raut's quotes with a different statement.

• These can be seen here, here and here.

• We also found a clarification issued by Lokmat about this viral image being fake.

• The news outlet stated, "...no such creative has been done by 'Lokmat' but this is a hoax done by supporters of a particular ideology on social media using the name and logo of 'Lokmat'."

Conclusion: An altered image is being shared to claim that Sanjay Raut called Uddhav Thackeray a 'King of Muslim hearts'.

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