Ahead of the grand consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a picture of ₹500 note has surfaced on Internet with Lord Ram’s image inscribed on it. It has been widely claimed that the picture of Lord Ram has replaced Mahatma Gandhi on the banknotes.
The text in Hindi with the picture reads: “मोदी का फैसला महत्मा गाँधी को नोट से हटा दिया गया हैं. अब नोट पर श्री राम की फोटो लगेगी” (English translation: Modi’s decision. Removed Mahatma Gandhi from the notes. Now Shri Ram’s photo will be on the notes.)
The post can be seen here. Another similar post can be seen here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above post, and found it to be false.
Scanning the official website of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — issuing authority of banknotes, the NM team could not find any notification about the introduction of new notes with Lord Ram’s picture. Additionally, the FAQ section on the RBI website clearly states that the ‘Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series’ is the latest edition of banknotes, which were introduced in 2016 after the demonetisation of old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes.
Putting the image of ₹500 note with Lord Ram’s picture through Reverse Image Search, we found the original picture on a stock photo website Shutterstock having Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait on ₹500 note.
Hence, it is confirmed that the viral image of the ₹500 note with Lord Ram’s portrait has been manipulated using the photo-editing software.
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