Fact Check: Viral photograph of Justin Trudeau sitting with people from Sikh community is not a protest
An image of Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sitting with people of the Sikh community has gone viral with the....
By Newsmeter Network Published on 7 Dec 2020 2:46 PM GMT
Hyderabad: An image of Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sitting with people of the Sikh community has gone viral with the claim that the PM is sitting on a dharna in support of the farmers' protests in India against the new farm laws.
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Fact Check:
NewsMeter performed a reverse image search and found an article by the Hindustan Times from 2015. "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited a Hindu temple and a gurdwara in Ottawa to celebrate Diwali with the Indo-Canadian community, which turned out in huge numbers to greet him," read the caption in the article.
The same was carried by Reuters and Adobe Stock. All the reports state that in 2015, Trudeau attended a puja at a temple and a Gurbani recital at a gurdwara before addressing the congregation at both places in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Hindustan Times, "A Member of Parliament from Ottawa, Chandra Arya, welcomed Trudeau on his arrival at the temple along with the temple president. High Commissioner Vishnu Prakash congratulated the Prime Minister on his election, observing that he was honouring 1.2 billion Indians and the large Indo-Canadian community by celebrating Diwali with them," the High Commission of India in Ottawa said in a statement.
Although, it is true that Trudeau has extended support to the protesting farmers in India, the viral image is not related to the protests. According to The Indian Express, Trudeau said, "The news coming out of India, about the protest by farmers, the situation is concerning. We are all worried about families and friends...Let me remind you, Canada will always be there to defend the right of peaceful protests."
Hence, it is clear that the claim is FALSE since the viral image is five-years-old.
