Fact Check: Did 92YO politician Motilal Vora fall at Rahul Gandhi's feet?
Several social media users are sharing an image of a senior politician bowing down to Rahul Gandhi and touching his feet.
By Satya Priya BN Published on 4 Aug 2021 1:30 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Several social media users are sharing an image of a senior politician bowing down to Rahul Gandhi and touching his feet. The claim is that the senior politician is 92-year-old Motilal Vora.
The claim, which is originally in Tamil, reads, "Motilal Vora (92) falls on the feet of Rahul Gandhi (51). And Manmohan Singh, (88) holding the bouquet. Only those who can be so enslaved will survive in Congress. All the slaves of the Congress must be ready to fall at the feet of top leaders." (translated)
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Fact Check:
The claim that the senior leader seen in the image is Motilal Vora is FALSE.
NewsMeter found that the image is from December 2018. According to reports, the man in the viral image is T.S Singh Deo and NOT Motilal Vohra.
This photo was taken during the oath-taking ceremony where Deo took oath as the Cabinet minister in the newly-formed Congress government in Chattisgarh. However, it is uncertain if Mr. Deo was, in fact, touching Rahul Gandhi's feet.
The claim was viral in 2019 when several websites had debunked it. Based on these fact-checks, there are two different narratives about the incident that emerged.
A Raipur-based senior journalist was present at the oath-taking ceremony when the photo was taken. As confirmed to Quint, the journalist said Mr. Deo had not bent down to touch Rahul Gandhi's feet but to simply pick a piece of thread that had fallen out of a bouquet that can be seen in former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's hands.
Speaking to India Today regarding the incident, Mr. Singh Deo had denied claims that he tried to touch Rahul's feet. However, a senior Congress leader R.P.N Singh said Mr. Deo had tried to touch Rahul's feet at the entrance but was stopped by the Congress chief.
Moreover, Motilal Vora, a senior leader of the Indian National Congress who was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, passed away on 21 December 2020, at the age of 92.
The incident seen in the image is NOT recent and the claim that it shows 92-year-old Motilal Vohra bowing down to touch Rahul Gandhi's feet is FALSE.
