Was PM Modi wearing shoes inside Kedarnath temple?

photograph from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much talked about Kedarnath visit is being widely shared on social media. The photo shows an arrow pointing at PM Modi’s feet claiming he was wearing shoes inside the temple premises. In the viral image, Modi is standing at the temple’s exit with folded hands.

Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the viral claim is completely false. PM Modi was wearing woollen socks, and not shoes, inside the temple premises.

The archived version of the post can be seen here. (http://archive.today/timw1)

Facebook page ‘Madhuri dikshit’ was one of the pages on the social media site that posted the image with the caption: “Baba ke mandir me joote pehenkar jaate hue Hindu hridya samraat.” At the time of filing this story, the post was shared more than 15,000 times.

journalist Manjeet Negi who was reporting PM Modi’s Kedarnath visit live said, “The PM was wearing black shoes outside the temple, but before entering the temple premises, he removed his shoes and wore navy blue woollen socks and then stepped inside the temple.”

We also found a video from the same time. At the 5 minute-35 second mark in the video posted on PM Narendra Modi’s website, one can clearly see a couch and two pairs of socks placed beside the red carpet. The PM stops there to remove his shoes. This is when he wore the woollen socks which were shaped like the shoes he was wearing before but did not have a sole. Any leather product which includes shoes, wallets or belts is prohibited inside the temple premises.

In one of the photographs tweeted by PM Modi, he can be seen wearing black shoes with a thick sole. However, there is no such soleon the socks that are visible in the viral image.