New Delhi: Ever since the foundation stone for the Ram temple in Ayodhya was laid on 5 August, a barrage of fake news has followed. Among these is a claim that the land given to the Sunni Waqf Board will be used to build a ‘Babri hospital’.
A post, which has gone viral on Facebook and Twitter, claims the hospital will be run by activist-physician Dr Kafeel Khan as its director. A photo of a hospital with ‘Babri Hospital’ superimposed on its exterior accompanies the post, which has so far garnered at least 3,800 shares on Twitter and hundreds of shares on Facebook.
Activist Dr Anand Rai, who has a following of over 2.5 lakh on Twitter, shared the post, as did Vishwa Hindu Parishad spokesperson Vijay Shankar Tiwari.
सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने मुसलमान को 5 एकड़ जमीन दी उस जमीन पर मुसलमान फिर से बाबरी मस्जिद नही बाबरी अस्पताल बनाएगा
माशाअल्लाह pic.twitter.com/zFDIdf3ITi
— Sahebaz khan (@sahebaz15) August 7, 2020
सुना है कि,बाबरी मस्जिद एक्शन कमेटी ने तय किया है कि प्रशासन द्वारा आवंटित 5 एकड़ जमीन पर अयोध्या मेंAIIMS के समकक्ष बहुमंजिला अस्पताल बनाएंगे,देखते है कितने धर्मनिरपेक्ष नेता चाँदी की शिलाएँ और दान देते हैं @OfficeOfKNath @digvijaya_28 @ShayarImran @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi
— Office Of Dr Anand Rai (@anandrai177) August 6, 2020
कहा जा रहा है कि बाबरी मस्जिद एक्शन कमेटी आबंटित 5 एकड़ भूमि पर AIIMS की तर्ज पर बड़ा अस्पताल बनाएगी,जिसमें हिन्दू-मुसलमान दोनों का इलाज होगा,तो सवाल उठता है कि अभी तक देश भर के अस्पताल हिन्दू मुस्लिम के आधार पर इलाज करते हैं क्या?
— Vijay Shankar Tiwari (@VijayVst0502) August 7, 2020
Also read: How 5 August redefined national politics in India — beyond Ram Mandir and Article 370
Fact check
The ‘Babri Hospital’ claim as well as its accompanying photograph are false and incorrect.
The image of the hospital has been taken from the website of a US-based architecture firm, Smith Group, which is designing a hospital for the University of Virginia. The words ‘Babri Hospital’ were edited onto the photograph.
Further, the claim that the Sunni Waqf Board will use the 5 acres allotted to it by the Supreme Court to build a hospital is not accurate. In a statement dated 7 August, the board said that the land will be used to build an Indo-Islamic cultural centre, which will feature a library, mosque, community kitchen as well as a hospital.
The board denied it was building a ‘Babri Hospital’ which would have Dr Kafeel Khan as its director. Dr Khan is currently under arrest by the Uttar Pradesh Police for making “provocative speeches” about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
In November 2019, the Supreme Court of India had ordered that the land where the Babri Masjid once stood be handed over to a trust to build the Ram Mandir. It also ordered that five acres be allotted to the Sunni Waqf Board, which was later granted by the UP government.
In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer.
Also read: Shouldn’t accept 5 acres of land for mosque even if it is offered at Taj Mahal: AIMPLB