Fact Check by Factly: A photo (here, here and here) of newspaper clipping allegedly from Rashtriya Ujala featuring Uddhav Thackeray is circulating on social media, claiming that the former Maharashtra Chief Minister apologised to Muslim leaders for Shiv Sena's involvement in the 1992 Mumbai riots. This same clipping has also gone viral in Marathi. To verify the authenticity of the claim and the context of the article, a fact-check is necessary.
Archived post can be seen here
Claim: Rashtriya Ujala newspaper article stating that Uddhav Thackeray apologised to Muslim leaders for Shiv Sena’s role in the 1992 Mumbai riots.
Fact: This is a fabricated news clipping. Rashtriya Ujala has clarified that they did not publish any such article, and Shiv Sena has also denounced it as fake. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We first searched online to check if there were any credible reports confirming Uddhav Thackeray's statement, but found no such information. We also reviewed the website and social media handles of the news outlet Rashtriya Ujala but found no such article published by them. Upon the clipping's circulation, Rashtriya Ujala issued a clarification (archive) stating that they had not published the article and called as fabricated.
They also mentioned that the writer named in the article, Pranav Dogra, is not associated with their newspaper. Furthermore, the management announced that they are initiating strict legal action against all individuals and entities responsible for creating, disseminating, and propagating this false news, which maligns their newspaper’s name. In an interview with Aaj Tak, Jyoti Narain, the director of Rashtriya Ujala, stated that the newspaper is published exclusively as an e-paper, and its print edition was discontinued long ago.
Additionally, when the same clipping went viral in Marathi, Shiv Sena denounced (here and here) it as fake and fabricated.
In conclusion, a fabricated news clipping is circulating, falsely claiming that Uddhav Thackeray apologised for the 1992 Mumbai riots.
(Disclaimer: This story was originally published by Factly, and republished by India TV as part of the Shakti Collective.)
