Fact-Check: Old Photo of Rahul Gandhi and His Niece Shared With False Claim
The photo shows him with his niece and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's daughter, Miraya Vadra.
The photograph was taken at a remembrance ceremony for late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 71st birth anniversary.
(Source: Twitter/Altered by The Quint)
A photograph of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seated next to a young woman, showing the two interacting, is being widely shared on social media platforms, taking a dig at Gandhi for "playing with young girls" during the party's ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Yatra.'
The photo was shared with the text, which mockingly referred to Gandhi as 'Pappu', stating that he was busy playing with henna-wearing children and that it was strange that the ten people he was on a yatra with were taking him seriously.
However, the claim is misleading. The photograph shows Gandhi with his niece Miraya Vadra, and it was taken on 20 August 2015 in New Delhi, during a remembrance ceremony on the 71st birth anniversary of late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
CLAIM
The photo is being shared to take a dig at Gandhi, with text which says that he is busy "playing with young girls wearing henna" during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu state president for IT and Social Media CTR Nirmal Kumar also shared the viral claim on Twitter, but later took it down, saying that he did not intend to "bring anybody’s personal life to public (sic)."
An archive of this post can be seen here.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
Using reverse image search on Google, we came across an article by Deccan Chronicle, published on 21 August 2015, which carried multiple photographs of the same young woman, identifying her as one Miraya Vadra – Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Robert Vadra's daughter.
The article identified her as Miraya Vadra.
We looked up both their names together and came across a set of photographs on Getty Images. Here, we came across one photograph that closely resembled the one in the claim.
The picture was taken in New Delhi.
According to the photo's caption, it was taken on 20 August 2015 in New Delhi. The caption reads –
Here, we can also see former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in attendance, while Miraya Vadra's father Robert sits behind her.
The stock images website had more photos showing Miraya in the same outfit, around her family members, including her mother and uncle.
We found more photographs of the event.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra began on 7 September and is yet to finish its Kerala leg. Hence, this photograph could not be taken at the yatra.
Evidently, this photo is not linked to the Bharat Jodo Yatra and shows Gandhi with his niece, Miraya Vadra.
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