Fact-Check: No, This Is Not an Old Video of PM Modi Doing a Handstand

Acharya Santosh Trivedi, seen in the viral video, told The Quint that the video is from 2021.

Fact check: The claim states that the video shows young PM Modi performing yoga.

(Photo: The Quint)

A video showing a man performing a handstand while circumambulating a temple is doing the rounds on social media with a claim that it shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi performing yoga in his younger days.

The claim states that the video was shot when Modi was 26 years old i.e. in 1977 (the prime minister is 71 now).

However, neither is the video that old nor does it show PM Modi. The video shows Acharya Santosh Trivedi at the Kedarnath temple performing the handstand on the occasion of International Yoga Day.

Further, the priest confirmed to us that the video was shot in 2021.

CLAIM

The claim stated that the video showed PM Modi's younger self doing yoga.

An archived version can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

Similar claims can be seen here and here.

The Quint also received several queries about this video on its WhatsApp tipline.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

On conducting a keyword search using 'priest doing handstand around temple yoga' on Google, we came across an article by a news agency Asian News International (ANI) posted on 21 June 2020.

ANI article from 2020.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

The article identified the man in the video as Santosh Trivedi – a priest at Kedarnath temple. However, the video in the story was different from the one which is now viral.

Taking a cue from here, we did anther keyword search and found an article by a regional television news channel ETV Bharat published on 21 June 2021, which stated that Trivedi circumambulated the Kedarnath temple shrine on his hands.

ETV Bharat carried the viral video in their report.

(Source: ETV Bharat/Screenshot)

The report included the viral video, in which the priest can also be seen wishing the people on the occasion of International Yoga Day, which falls on 21 June.

Speaking to The Quint, Acharya Santosh Trivedi confirmed to the us that the video was shot in 2021 on the occasion of International Yoga Day.

Clearly, an old video of a priest from Kedarnath is being shared as a video showing PM Modi.

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