Update (23 June 2023): On 20 June 2023, the Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan Trust lodged a complaint with the Shirdi police against individuals who shared misinformation on various social media platforms about the trust’s involvement in donating money to Haj Pilgrims. The Shirdi Police registered an FIR and is currently investigating the matter. FIR copy can be accessed here.
A widely shared post on social media claims that the Shirdi Saibaba Trust has donated ₹35 crores to Haj pilgrims but has not contributed to the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan Trust donated ₹35 crore to Haj Pilgrims, while no donation was made for the construction of Ayodhya Ram Mandir.
Fact: The Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan Trust, as clarified by its former CEO Rahul Jadhav, did not give any donation to Haj pilgrims. Additionally, Jadhav stated that no one has approached them for donations towards the construction of Ayodhya Ram Mandir, and thus the trust has not made any decisions regarding it. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
An internet search regarding Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan Trust making donations to Haj pilgrims yielded no credible reports. If such a donation had indeed taken place, it would have garnered extensive coverage from leading newspapers. Additionally, the official Facebook, and Twitter accounts, and website of the Shirdi Trust have not released any statement on this matter. However, in April 2023, when this rumour gained significant traction on social media, the then-CEO of the Trust, Rahul Jadav, addressed the matter and clarified that no donation was given to the Haj Pilgrims.
Furthermore, he clarified that no requests had been made to the trust for donations towards the construction of the Ram Mandir. Consequently, no decision was taken as there were no provisions for such funds in accordance with the Sansthan Regulations. Additionally, he emphasized that strict action would be taken against individuals spreading false information that tarnishes the image of the Shirdi temple.
Upon careful examination of the viral screenshot of Google Search results, it was discovered that the information was sourced from a tweet by a Twitter user named Kavita Tewari on 20 April 2023. However, it was later observed that she had deleted the tweet as the information was found to be incorrect. Furthermore, the full article from the ‘Latestly’ website, as depicted in the viral photo, also categorizes this information as false.
In 2020, the Shirdi Trust donated ₹51 crore to the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund during the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, the Shirdi Temple Trust has consistently contributed to numerous social service programs. FACTLY has already debunked a similar claim regarding the Sai Trust’s alleged donation of ₹96 crores to Mosques in December 2021.
To sum it up, Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan Trust did not give any donations to Haj pilgrims.
