A video circulating on social media shows a group of people in a helicopter wearing Islamic caps. The post claims the person in the video is Maulana Sajjad Nomani, a member of the Working Executive Committee of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. The post further alleges that Congress, Sharad Pawar, and Uddhav Thackeray provided him with a helicopter for campaigning across Maharashtra and that he made several demands to the Maha Vikas Aghadi after winning the elections. This post is shared in the context of the recently concluded 2024 Assembly elections of Maharashtra. Let’s verify the claim through this article.
Claim: A video shows Maulana Sajjad Nomani using a helicopter allegedly provided by the Maha Vikas Aghadi for campaigning in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024.
Fact: The video is not of Maulana Sajjad Nomani from the Maharashtra election campaign, but of Maulana Arshad Madani, president of Jamiat Ulama Hind, during his recent visit to Bangladesh. There are no credible reports about Maulana Sajjad Nomani being provided with a helicopter. Additionally, on 19 November 2024, Maulana Sajjad Nomani clarified through an X post that he had not made any demands to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in exchange for his support. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led to a Facebook post by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, featuring the same video (archive) dated 18 November 2024. The caption, “Maulana Arshad Madani Bangladesh me,” confirms that the person in the video is Maulana Arshad Madani, president of Jamiat Ulama Hind, not Maulana Sajjad Nomani.
Taking clues from the Facebook post, we used relevant keywords which led us to a news (archive) report by Ourislam24. According to the report, Syed Arshad Madani visited Bangladesh from 15 November 2024 to 21 November 2024, where he attended Islamic conferences, Islahi Bayan, and Bayat programs across various districts. The events focused on topics such as the Islamic education system, Qawmi Madrasas, the Prophet’s teachings, the hereafter, and self-improvement.
We also found an Instagram post (archive) by Maulana Arshad Madani, dated 17 November 2024, from his recent visit to Bangladesh.
To verify the claim that Maulana Sajjad Nomani was provided a helicopter by MVA and made several demands, we conducted a search using relevant keywords. However, this search did not yield any credible reports about Maulana Sajjad Nomani being provided with a helicopter or that he made such demands. If he had indeed made such remarks, the media would have reported on it. We also checked his social media accounts (here, here, here, and here) but found no posts indicating that he made such statements.
During this search, we also found a post (archive) on X (formerly Twitter) made by Maulana Sajjad Nomani on 19 November 2024, clarifying that he had not made any demands to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in exchange for his support. The post reads: ‘Some friends in the media and some communal people are linking me to some Ulema Board or Council and saying that I had written a letter with 17 demands to the parties of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. I am neither the president nor a member of any Ulema Board or Council, nor have I written any such letter.’
To sum up, a video of Maulana Arshad Madani in a helicopter from his recent Bangladesh visit is falsely shared as Maulana Sajjad Nomani campaigning for the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
