Claim
Akhilesh Yadav made a statement that in Hinduism, if you place a stone anywhere and put up a red flag, a temple springs up under a peepal tree.
“अब अखिलेश यादव जी का क्या बयान है? हिंदू धर्म में कहां कहीं भी पत्थर रख दो, एक लाल झंडा लगा दो तो पीपल नीचे मंदिर बन जाता है।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
Multiple independent Indian news outlets (India TV, TV9, Aaj Tak, Asianet, Zee News) reported that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav made this exact statement in May 2022 amid the Gyanvapi survey row, saying that in Hinduism placing a stone and a red flag under a peepal tree anywhere creates a temple. The anchor's quote reproduces this near-verbatim, so the attribution of the statement to Akhilesh Yadav is accurate.
Evidence
- https://www.indiatv.in/india/uttar-pradesh/akhilesh-on-gyanvapi-controversial-words-of-sp-president-put-a-stone-anywhere-in-hinduism-put-a-red-flag-under-the-peepal-tree-the-temple-become-2022-05-19-851793 India TV Hindi reports Akhilesh Yadav's verbatim remark: 'हिंदू धर्म में कहीं पर भी पत्थर रख दो, एक लाल झंडा रख दो पीपल के पेड़ के नीचे तो मंदिर बन गया' — matching the quoted claim almost word-for-word. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.tv9hindi.com/state/uttar-pradesh/akhilesh-yadav-says-in-hinduism-placing-a-stone-and-a-red-flag-under-a-peepal-tree-makes-a-temple-au472-1239712.html TV9 Bharatvarsh headline confirms Akhilesh said in Hinduism placing a stone and red flag under a peepal tree makes a temple, said in Ayodhya. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.aajtak.in/india/uttar-pradesh/story/gyanvapi-mosque-survey-case-akhilesh-yadav-comment-shivling-temple-ayodhya-ram-mandir-lclv-1466245-2022-05-19 Aaj Tak reports the same statement in the context of the Gyanvapi mosque survey case, May 2022. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/akhilesh-yadav-mocks-hindu-temples-red-flag-rock-peepal-tree-samajwadi-party-latest-updates-bjp-2022-05-18-777588 India TV English quotes Yadav: 'In our religion, you put a stone anywhere, red-flag under a pipal tree and you have a temple there.' ✓ reachable · archived