Indian President Murmu was invited to Ram temple consecration ceremony

What is the claim?

A claim is circulating on social media platforms such as Facebook that the Indian President Draupadi Murmu was not invited to the Ram temple consecration ceremony held in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, on January 22. These posts further claim that while celebrities like actor Kangana Ranaut were invited, the President was not. Archived versions of such posts can be seen here, here, here, and here. 

Some users have also insinuated that Murmu was allegedly not invited to the temple’s consecration because she is an Adivasi. (Members of Adivasi and Dalit communities have historically not been allowed to enter Hindu temples, and the practice is still followed in many places in India.)

Screenshots of viral social media posts. (Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim that the President of India wasn't invited to the ceremony is false.

What did we find?

Various news outlets such as Press Trust of India (PTI), The Hindu, The Times of India, and CNN-News 18 reported that President Draupadi Murmu was officially invited to the Ram temple consecration ceremony.

According to a report in The Hindu, published on January 12, a delegation comprising Nripendra Misra, chairman of Ram temple construction committee; Alok Kumar, working president of the Hindu right-wing group, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP); and Ram Lal, general secretary (organization), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) called upon Murmu and handed over an official invite to the ceremony. The report also published a photo of the invitation being handed over to the President. Reports in other media outlets corroborate these details.

VHP also shared a picture of the President receiving the invitation in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on January 12, 2024. The image was captioned in Hindi, “The President of India, Honorable Draupadi Murmu Ji was invited to the consecration of Shri Ram Temple on January 22. She expressed immense joy and said that she would soon decide the time to come and visit Ayodhya (translated).”

The verdict

It is not true that the President of India was not invited to the Ram temple consecration ceremony. Leaders of the committer responsible for the construction of the temple and other groups handed over an invitation to President Draupadi Murmu on January 12. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.

(Correction: This fact-check had previously wrongly identified President Draupadi Murumu as a Dalit woman. She is a member of the Adivasi community.)