On August 8, 2023, a handle on Twitter @WeDravidians shared screengrabs of a video that seemed to show Tamil actor Yogi Babu being denied a handshake by a temple priest.
The handle tweeted “Upper caste priest denies to shake hands with top Tamil movies comedian Yogi Babu! The pic goes viral… But many people have awareness about this untouchability which is 2000+ years old.”
Many news media and Twitter handles believing it to be the truth reposted it and shared on their social media furthering what turned out to be a lie. A video was also shared in this matter by some handles depicting the incident.
Clarifying the issue in an interview with Cinema Vikatan, actor Yogi Babu said that he was on a visit to a Murugan temple in Siruvapuri in Tiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu as he would usually do. He said, “I have been going to Siruvapuri temple for more than 12 years since I bought the bike. Since then, I know the priest. He is a very good man. He is a well-wisher. I saw his Murugan dollar he was wearing and since I also have a similar one, I asked him ‘Where did you get this dollar, Saami?’ When I looked at him and asked him, he said, “I got it from abroad, dear.”
The actor said, “I was not even going to shake his hand. I only inquired about the dollar. You will know this if you watch the video carefully.”
He also said that he spoke with the priest for 10 minutes after this. He also added that. “Whenever I go to the temple, he is kind to me. A habit of many years. All people know that I am a long-time devotee. Doesn’t matter where I go in Tamil Nadu or any place in India, any temple I go to, all the priests treat me well. They will happily greet me and take pictures with their families.”
“Even if I go to Tiruchendur, I will eat at a priest’s house, with his family. I say this is the truth in the name of Lord Muruga. Even now, I go to the temple. The priest didn’t do anything wrong. Someone is spreading it like this on purpose. That video was taken a month and a half ago. Don’t wrongly criticize the priests without knowing what actually happened. Caste should not be brought into all this. No untouchability was practiced by the temple priest!” he explained.
The Dravidian twitter handle spreading fake anti-Hindu propaganda had still not deleted the tweet at the time of publishing this article. The handle seems to be a habitual offender and must be acted against by law enforcement authorities, said many netizens.
