Old images of a festival are shared in the wake of BJP leader’s statement that cow dung may help cure Coronavirus - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 6, 2020
A couple of images are being widely shared on Facebook with the claim that they show BJP men smearing cow dung on one another after their party leader Suman Haripriya said that cow dung may help cure Coronavirus. Let’s check the veracity of the claim made in the post.
Images of BJP men smearing cow dung on one another after their party leader Suman Haripriya has said that cow dung may help cure Coronavirus.
Fact:  Assam BJP MLA Suman Haripriya has made those statements on 02 March 2020. But the images are from ‘Goraihabba’ festival that was celebrated in Thalavadi (Tamil Nadu) on 30 October 2019. In the festival, people smear cow dung on one another as part of their celebration. So, the claim is FALSE.
As per 2 March 2020 article of ‘New18’, Assam BJP MLA Suman Haripriya claimed that cow dung may help cure Coronavirus.
When the images were subjected to reverse image search technique, a video of ‘News flare’ website was obtained in the search results. In that video, visuals related to both the images were seen.  The video had the description that it is related to ‘Goraihabba’ festival that was celebrated in Thalavadi (Tamil Nadu) on 30 October 2019. In ‘Goraihabba’ festival, people smear cow dung on one another as part of their celebration. More about the festival can be found here and here.
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To conclude, old images of people smearing cow dung during a festival are being shared in the wake of BJP leader’s statements about cow dung being a cure for Coronavirus.
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