A set of images is being shared on the internet to claim that it shows the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, posing with the wife of controversial evangelist Daniel Stephen Courney.
What's the context?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium handle shared the images suggesting connections between the Congress party and Courney. The user identified the woman as one Anusha, who is allegedly the secretary of Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee.
Are these claims true?: No, the claims are false. The woman in the image was identified as a Congress worker named Anusha Pullaiah.
Speaking to Team WebQoof, Pullaiah confirmed that she is unmarried and that she has registered a First Information Report (FIR) about the posts.
How did we find that out?: On going through the tagged account in the viral post, we found that the name of the woman was Anusha Pullaiah and also came across a statement posted on 22 November.
Pullaiah, on her X handle, refuted the claims made in the viral post and said that she has no knowledge of Courney.
She further shared a copy of the FIR filed against those falsely linking her to Courney.
Pullaiah refuted claims: Team WebQoof spoke to Pullaiah, who confirmed that she is unmarried and refuted the viral claims.
She informed us that the image with Gandhi was taken on 2 June 2024, when she was working at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in South India in charge of the Lok Sabha Elections.
Pullaiah further said, "I joined the congress party in 2021 as a part of the Research team of Karnataka Youth Congress. Since the Karnataka assembly elections, I have been a part of KPCC Warroom, then Telangana war room and AICC. Now I have contested for General Secretary, Karnataka youth congress. Results are yet to come."
What did Karnataka Youth Congress PRO say?: We further reached out to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Indian Youth Congress (Karnataka Zone), Pramod Kumar, who said that "the claim is false and baseless. She is neither married nor associated in anyway with Daniel Stephen Courney."
Conclusion: It is clear that the viral claim about a Congress worker being married to controversial evangelist Daniel Stephen Courney is false.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)