An old image of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sitting with his niece Miraya Vadra is being shared on social media with captions falsely linking it to Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', the nationwide foot march campaign that began in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu on September 7.
The image, showing Gandhi touching Miraya Vadra's palm affectionately, has been tweeted by Bharatiya Janata Party leader CTR Nirmal Kumar, who heads BJP Tamil Nadu unit's social media.
The tweet, which has since been deleted, was captioned in Tamil as, "Pappu is playing with children by putting mehendi on them. Feeling sad for the 10 members who're taking him to the yatra"
(Original caption in Tamil: குழந்தைகளுடன் மருதாணி வைத்து விளையாடும் இந்த #pappu-வை கூட்டிக்கொண்டு யாத்திரை போகும் அந்த 10 பேரை நினைத்தால் தான் பாவமாக இருக்கிறது...)
Click here to view the tweet and here for an archived link. Kumar also posted the image on his Facebook account with the same caption.
The image has been widely shared on Facebook with the same claim. See two Facebook posts here and here.
The 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' led by Rahul Gandhi resumed its eleventh day from Haripad, Alappuzha on September 18. Starting from Kanyakumari on September 7, 2022, Rahul Gandhi, along with other senior Congress leaders, are expected to march till Srinagar, covering twelve states and two union territories, in about five months.
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Fact Check
BOOM ran the viral image through a reverse image search on Google which led us to several images uploaded on Getty Images showing Gandhi and Miraya Vadra, wearing the same attire. Miraya Vadra is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Robert Vadra's daughter.
The title of the image on Getty reads, "Tributes Paid To Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi On His 71st Birth Anniversary". In the original image, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Robert Vadra can be seen seated along with them.
The caption further reads, "Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi with his niece Miraya Vadra during a remembrance ceremony for the 71st birth anniversary of the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Veer Bhumi on August 20, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during electoral campaigning, allegedly by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel separatists, in the town of Sriperumpudur, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991."
The Hindustan Times' photographer Sonu Mehta clicked the image. Click here and here to view more images clicked during the same event.
This photo is thus six years old, and not linked to Congress' recent marching campaign "Bharat Jodo Yatra" in any way.