India TV Fact Check: The Central Government is taking steps regarding UCC i.e. Uniform Civil Code. After a few days, the Uttarakhand government is all set to bring the bill in the state Assembly. Amid all this, things regarding UCC have started spreading on the internet as well. A similar viral post came before us in which it was claimed that the number given in the post has been issued by the government to know the public opinion on UCC. Therefore, an appeal has been made to the people to vote in favour of UCC. But when we fact-checked it, we found that the number given with the post is not of the government but of a BJP campaign.
What is going viral?
A user named Mukesh Vlogs shared the post on Facebook on January 31, 2024. This post reads, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to bring a Uniform Civil Code for the entire Indian population. For this, the citizens of the country have been asked to give their opinion. Within two days, 4 crore Muslims and 2 crore Christians have voted against UCC. Therefore, before the deadline 6th July, all Hindus in the country are requested to vote in favour of UCC. Please give a missed call on 9090902024 to support UCC and save the country. Your call will be recorded and will be accepted as support to UCC. Please share this information with all Hindus. Best wishes to all who gave a missed call on 9090902024. Bharat Mata Ki Jai. If you like this message If you share this with more than 100 people, you will be doing a great service to the country."
Viral post
India TV did fact check
We directly searched the mobile number shared with this post on Google. A news article from India Today appeared at the top. This news was published on 31 May 2023. Its headline reads- 'BJP launches unique missed call campaign ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls' (BJP launches unique missed call campaign ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections)
The news further reads, "Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a unique 'missed call' campaign with a special number 9090902024. The initiative aims to expand the support base of the party This is similar to the membership drive launched by the party in 2019. To launch this massive campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sound the election bugle for the Maha Sampark Abhiyaan from Ajmer, Rajasthan on May 31."
India Today news article
During Google search, we also found a post related to this number on BJP's official X account. This post was shared on June 29, 2023. Its caption reads, "9 years... of service, good governance and poor welfare! Give a missed call to 9090902024 to join the 'Jan Sampark Se Jan Samarthan' campaign."
It became clear that the number given with the viral post is not for giving opinion on UCC but for BJP's public relations campaign released last year. After this, we tried to search on Google with the help of keywords, what contact information had been issued by the government to know the public opinion on Uniform Civil Code. We found news of NBT which was published on 15 June 2023. According to this news, "The Law Commission has sought opinion from public and religious institutions on the Uniform Civil Code. Those who want to give their opinion in this matter can give their opinion within 30 days. For this, a formal email ID will be given. Ideas can be sent to membersecretary-lci@gov.in."
Now it also became clear that no mobile number but email ID was issued to give opinion on UCC.
What was found in the investigation?
When India TV fact checked this post, it was found that the number being viral was not for giving opinion on UCC but for BJP's public relations campaign.
