A viral image purporting to show Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra posing with former CISF Officer Kulwinder Kaur, who recently slapped Kangana Ranaut, is viral online.
BOOM found that the photo shows former Congress MLA from Rajasthan Divya Maderna who is being misidentified as Kulwinder Kaur.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut, was slapped by now-suspended CISF officer Kulwinder Kaur during a security check at the Chandigarh airport on June 6, 2024. A video of Kaur explaining why she hit Ranaut then went viral on social media. Kaur claimed that Ranaut's old and derogatory statement about women participating in the farmers' protest for Rs 100 enraged and upset her. "Kangana said the women were sitting in the farmers’ protests for ₹100. Will she go and sit there? My mother was sitting there and protesting when she made that remark," Kaur was heard saying.
The viral photo claims that the Gandhi family was seen photographed with the same CISF officer. A caption on Facebook reads, "This woman is the same Kulwinder Kaur who slapped Kangana Ranaut."
(Original text in Hindi: "ये महिला वही कुलविंदर कौर है, जिन्होंने कँगना रनौत को थप्पड़ मारा था।")
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Another user on X wrote, "Name them and Fame them. Recognised her the women standing with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi & Priyanka Vadra❗️ She is the same #Gurvirnder_Kaur who attacked on #Kangna_Ranawat. Entire ecosystem of Congress is involved in Anti India & violent activities."
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the woman in the photo is not Kulwinder Kaur but former Congress MLA from Osian, Rajasthan, Divya Maderna. The photo is from February 2024, before the controversy involving Kulwinder Kaur and Kangana Ranaut.
We ran a reverse image search of the viral photo on Google and found an Instagram post by the unofficial account of Divya Maderna, @divya_maderna_inc. The post was shared on June 9, 2024 and was a cropped version of the viral image showing only Sonia Gandhi.
Taking a cue from this, we ran a search for Congress' Divya Maderna's official Instagram account and found that she had shared the viral image on February 14, 2024, months before the controversy involving Kangana Ranaut and Kulwinder Kaur.
The caption read, "Welcomed Mr. Rahul Gandhi and Mrs. Priyanka Gandhi who came along. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Rahul Gandhi"
(Original text in Hindi: "साथ में पधारे श्री राहुल गांधी जी एवं श्रीमती प्रियंका गांधी जी का भी स्वागत किया । Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Rahul Gandhi")
This photo was taken on February 14 when Congress' former party president Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections from Rajasthan.
We compared this picture of Maderna with other photos on her profile and were able to confirm that it was, in fact, her in the viral photo and not Kulwinder Kaur.
We also found that Divya Maderna had posted a clarification regarding the viral claim on her verified X account on June 14, 2024. While sharing screenshots of some viral posts, she wrote, "Since yesterday, my photo taken during the Rajya Sabha nomination of respected Mrs. Sonia Gandhi in Rajasthan assembly has been posted with false facts across the country and an attempt is being made to tarnish the image of the respected Gandhi family by presenting me as CISF jawan Kulvinder Kaur."
Read her full statement here:
The same clarification was also shared on her verified Facebook account.