Telangana CM inaugurated three places of worship and not just a mosque at the new secretariat

By: Rajeswari Parasa
September 12 2023

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Screenshot of the claims made online. (Source: X, Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

A claim that the government in the southern Indian state of Telangana has inaugurated a mosque in the new secretariat complex is going viral on social media. The claim is being shared with communal undertones, implying that the state government is "appeasing" members of the Muslim community. 

Sharing visuals from the inauguration ceremony, one post shared on X (formerly Twitter), originally in Hindi, said, "Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao inaugurated the newly constructed mosque in Telangana Secretariat. If you vote for selfish Hindus and parties doing Muslim appeasement, this is what you will see, one day the situation will be like this, you will be forced to leave the country, but where will you go? Where you will get a place, think now (sic)."

The video attached shows Akbaruddin Owaisi, a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), speaking in the Telagnana Assembly about the party's faith that a mosque will be built in the secretariat. The video then shows scenes from the inauguration ceremony where Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, and other leaders and state officials were present. The video ends with KCR's speech about the mosque's inauguration, brotherhood, and the government's efforts to maintain the same.

Viral claims made online. (Source: Facebook/Screenshot/Twitter/Screenshot)

Communal narratives around building the mosque inside the secretariat are also being shared in Kannada by social media handles reportedly affiliated with the BJP. Such posts insinuate that only a mosque has been built at the secretariat and other faiths have been sidelined.

However, this claim is misleading.

What are the facts?

According to a report by India Today, on August 25, the chief minister inaugurated a mosque, temple, and church, all adjacent to the newly constructed secretariat building. The three places of worship were inaugurated on the same day. 

The event was also live-streamed by T News Telugu, a local media channel, and the reportage shows KCR inaugurating a temple and a church apart from the mosque. The livestream begins with a Hindu prayer ceremony to inaugurate the temple. The ceremony to inaugurate the mosque starts around the 3:17:08 timestamp, while the ceremony to inaugurate the church is briefly seen around the 7:59:38 mark. 

Another regional outlet NTV Telugu, published a longer video of the ceremony at the church on its YouTube channel on August 25. A pastor can be heard speaking in the presence of the chief minister and the governor. 

Additionally, NDTV reported on August 25 that special prayers were held in all three places of worship as part of the inauguration. 

Logically Facts also visited the site of the new Dr. BR Ambedkar Telangana Secretariat located in the Khairatabad area in Hyderabad on September 11. All three places of worship were located right outside the secretariat. The three structures are also accessible to the general public.

The mosque and the church near the Telangana secretariat complex. (Images by Logically Facts)

While the church and mosque are located behind the secretariat's main building, the temple is on the right side of the secretariat, on the Khairatabad road. The Telangana secretariat fire station and accommodation for the secretariat police are on the same lane as the church and the mosque. Meanwhile, the temple lane has offices of two prominent banks.

The temple is next to the Telangana secretariat building. (Images by Logically Facts)

The verdict

The Telangana government has also constructed a temple and a church at the new secretariat complex apart from building a mosque. Claims that only a mosque was inaugurated by the Telangana government are aimed at spreading a false communal narrative. Therefore, we mark the claim as misleading.