Fact check: Congress MP Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj did not seek apology on Vishalgad

Lighthouse Journalism came across a post being widely shared on social media platforms that claimed that descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Kolhapur’s Congress MP, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj was seen seeking apology from Muslim Community members after a dargah in Vishalgad was demolished. During the investigation we found the post to be misleading.

Claim:

X user Anand Varma shared the viral post on his profile.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj descendant👉 Shahu Chhatrapati, Congress MP from Kolhapur holding his ears, seeking an apology from the local minority community for the anti-encroachments drive on historic Vishalghad.

Descendants keep shaming legacies in Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/Kpg4JNJZcb

— Anandvarma (@anandvarma83) July 18, 2024

Check the archive version of the post here.

Other users too are sharing the post with the same claim.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj descendant👉 Shahu Chhatrapati, Congress MP from Kolhapur holding his ears, seeking an apology from the local minority community for the anti-encroachments drive on historic Vishalghad.

Descendants keep shaming legacies in Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/CeNjJKuLYy

— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) July 18, 2024

विशाळगडावरील मुसलमानांची कान धरून माफी मागताना खासदार शाहू छत्रपती.
जय श्रीराम जय घोषणा देणाऱ्या शाळकरी मुलांच्या गाडीवर दगडफेक झाली त्यावेळी अशी माफी मागितली होती का महाराज?
अन् हे म्हणे हिंदवी स्वराज्याचे संस्थापक छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराजांचे वंशज pic.twitter.com/g2jF97KwPy

— Chowkidar Ananda गर्व से कहो हम हिंदू हैं 🚩🚩🚩 (@snsypr) July 17, 2024

विशाळगडावरील मुसलमानांची कान धरून माफी मागताना खासदार शाहू छत्रपती.

जय श्रीराम जय घोषणा देणाऱ्या शाळकरी मुलांच्या गाडीवर दगडफेक झाली त्यावेळी अशी माफी मागितली होती का महाराज?

असा प्रश्न यांना मतदान करणारे हिंदूंनी विचारला पाहिजे pic.twitter.com/OBSCHAnBlo

— योद्धा (@myself_arjun111) July 17, 2024

Investigation:

We started our investigation with a reverse image search on the image being shared with misleading claims. We found a post on X by user Comrade, who posted that the image shows a woman informing the MP about her stolen earrings.

त्या स्त्री चे म्हणणे होते कि कानातले हिसकावून घेतले त्याचे अनुकरण महाराजांनी केले.

अन झंडुत्ववादी नेहमीप्रमाणे खोटा नरेटिव रेटत आहेत .छञपतीं नी माफी मागितली म्हणुन..

हिंदुत्ववादी मराठा जागा रहा.. pic.twitter.com/KjKxPo2Bx9

— Comrade… (@Ni3kale) July 17, 2024

We then ran a keyword search on X, this led us to a post by Adv Anand Dasa.

काँग्रेस खासदार छत्रपती शाहू महाराज आणि सतेज पाटील यांनी विशालगड ला जाऊन समाजकंटकांचा डाव उधळून लावला म्हणून छत्रपतींची या ना त्या कारणाने बदनामी करने चालू आहे.

छत्रपतींनी कान पकडून माफी मागितली असं भाजप IT सेल वाले पसरवत आहेत. पण ती महिला तिच्या कानातले दागिने कोणीतरी ओढून नेले… pic.twitter.com/hjZPTNtMDW

— Adv Anand Dasa (@Anand_Dasa88) July 18, 2024

The post mentioned: Congress MPs Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj and Satej Patil went to Vishalgarh and thwarted the conspiracy of social activists, Chhatrapati is being defamed for one reason or another.

We then ran a keyword search in Marathi and found a video being uploaded on the YouTube channel of Mumbai Tak five days ago.

The video was titled: Shahu Chhatrapati यांना महिलांचा घेराव, विशाळगड गजापूरमध्ये पोहोचताच टाहो फोडला, सगळा थरार सांगितला

Translation: Women gherao Shahu Chhatrapati, women complain as soon as he reached Vishalgad Gajapur

It was around the 1 min 40 sec mark that the Congress MP was seen holding his ears. After we listened carefully, the woman was heard saying, “They entered her house and snatched away her earrings.” (Iske ghar me ghus kar kaan me se iska nikal ke le gaye).

The title mentioned that the video was from Gajapur. We found a report that stated, communal violence sparked recently in the Gajapur village of Kolhapur district.

Conclusion: Kolhapur’s Congress MP Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj did not apologise to the members of Muslim community by holding his ears. A woman was narrating an incident of how her earrings were snatched. Viral claims are misleading.