Fact Check: Viral image of Modi's letter on 'Made in India' appeal is FALSE
The message, which looks like an official letter from the PM's office, addresses people of India and it also has the PM's signature at the bottom.
A viral message with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image on it wherein he is urging Indians to buy only 'Made in India' products for Diwali this year is being shared on social media. The message, which looks like an official letter from the PM's office, addresses people of India and it also has the PM's signature at the bottom.
The text in the letter, which is in Telugu, goes as: "నా ప్రియమైన భారతదేశ ప్రజలారా, మీరందరూ ఈసారి చాలా చేయాలి, రాబోయే దీపావళి పండుగ రోజున, మీ ఇళ్లలో స్వట్లతో తేలికపాటి అలంకరణ చేయండి, వీటన్నింటిలో భారతదేశంలో తయారు చేయిన పదార్ధాలను మాత్రమే ఉపయోగించండి. ఈ ప్రధాన్ సేవక్ మాటలను మీరు తప్పకుండా వింటారని నేను ఆశిస్తున్నాను, మీరు చిన్న చిన్న అడుగులు వేసి నన్ను ఆదరిస్తే, మన భారతదేశం ప్రపంచంలో ముందు వరుసలో మొదటి స్థానంలో నిలబడగలదని నేను మీకు హామీ ఇస్తున్నాను. నేను నీకు నమస్కరిస్తున్నాను, తల్లి, ప్
When translated, it reads: "My dear people of India, all of you should do a lot this time, on the occasion of the upcoming festival of Diwali, make simple decoration in your homes along with sweets, for all these use only products Made in India. I hope you will surely listen to this pradhan sevak, if you take small steps and support me, I assure you that our India can stand in the frontline in the world. I salute you, Mother, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi"
This claim is being shared virally for the past few days on facebook and WhatsApp too.
A similar letter went viral in the Hindi language around Diwali time in 2019 also. The text was the same along with the PM's image on it.
Fact check:
The claim that the letter has been released by the Indian PM is FALSE. The letter was not released by the PM or the PM's office. When we searched for related images using the keywords, we found that this image was being shared on the internet since 2016.
At that time, the PMO also released a clarification stating that the document shared was not authentic.
The PMO's tweet states, "Few appeals with PM's 'signature' are circulated on social media. Such documents are not authentic."
A few letters written by PM Modi with his signature are on the internet, so replicating the signature is very easy for creating a letter like this.
Here is the comparison of the viral image with a letter we found online.
The claim which is in Hindi, has been debunked by several fact checking organisations since 2016.
Hence, the image of the letter by Modi appealing to the people to use only Made in India products for this Diwali is a hoax. The claim is FALSE.