Fact Check: Did Akhilesh Yadav perform shradh for his living father

New Delhi, Sep 27: Shradh or Pitru Paksh is a 15 day period where Hindus pay their respects to the departed souls of their ancestors. This period starts on September 10 and ends on September 25.

This ritual is however never performed for those who are living. Now a claim has gone viral on the social media that Samajwadi Party leader, Akhilesh Yadav undertook the ritual for his father Mulayam Singh Yadav who is very much alive.

An image shows a person in a white kurta-pyjama, red cap and black Nehru jacket offering food to the photograph of Yadav. The image has been shared with the claim that the man is Akhilesh Yadav and that he is performing shradh for his living father.

OneIndia has learnt that the man in the picture is Manish Yadav and not Akhilesh Yadav. The image was tweeted by news agency ANI on November 22 2021. Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) workers perform 'havan' and cut a cake at the party office to celebrate party's founder-patron Mulayam Singh Yadav's birthday today, ANI said while tweeting the photograph.

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) workers perform 'havan' and cut a cake at the party office to celebrate party's founder-patron Mulayam Singh Yadav's birthday today. pic.twitter.com/dgO9qqFevq

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 22, 2021

The image was also shared by Manish Yadav with a caption in Hindi when loosely translated read, Happy Birthday to Hon'ble Leader.

माननीय नेता जी को जन्मदिन की अनंत शुभकामनाएं🙏@yadavakhilesh @MediaCellSP @dimpleyadav @SamajwadiParty_ pic.twitter.com/5AiT1qouIk

— Manish Yadav (@my1manish) November 22, 2021

Manish Yadav and others celebrated his birthday and also performed a havan for his long life. They used his photograph during the havan as it is hard to call on a big leader like him.

The birthday of Mulayam Singh Yadav was also celebrated at the SP's headquarters in Lucknow. A

khilesh Yadav too had shared images of the same.

माननीय नेता जी के जन्मदिन पर बधाई संदेश देनेवाले विश्वभर के समस्त सम्मानित गणमान व्यक्तियों, प्रधानमंत्री जी व अन्य सभी नेतागणों, समर्थकों व कार्यकर्ताओं को हार्दिक धन्यवाद! pic.twitter.com/qkxP4U2deH

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) November 22, 2021

Hence it could be concluded that Akhilesh Yadav was not performing shradh for his living father.

Moreover the man in the viral image is an SP leader Manish Yadav and he was celebrating the senior Yadav's birthday.