This photo does not show PM Modi with Morbi bridge contractor
Social media handles associated with the Congress party have shared a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with a man.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 1 Nov 2022 1:38 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Social media handles associated with the Congress party have shared a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with a man. They are claiming that the man standing with Mr. Modi is the contractor responsible for renovating the Morbi bridge that collapsed a few days ago. They have accused Mr. Modi of supporting crony capitalism.
The claim comes after the collapse of the 135-year-old suspension bridge in Morbi, Gujarat. The bridge was closed for over seven months for repair and renovation work, and it collapsed on the evening of 30 October after it was reopened on 26 October.
So far, nine people have been arrested on the charges of culpable homicide, including two managers of the Oreva Group (Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd). The company was given a contract by the municipality to maintain the bridge.
The official handle of the Odisha Youth Congress shared the image and wrote, "The man who got the contract to repair and maintain the #MorbiBridge is also a Modi crony…Only those who pay upfront via election bonds and cash, get business from the Modi Govt. The going rate is reportedly 40%. It's more than just criminal." (Archive)
Click here to see the post.
The official handle of the Rajasthan Youth Congress also shared the image with the same claim. (Archive)
Click here to see the post.
Congress leader Satyanarayn Patel shared the image on Facebook and claimed that the man seen in the photo with Mr. Modi is Odhav Patel who was given the tender to maintain the Morbi bridge. He has now deleted the post.
Fact Check
NewsMeter performed a reverse image search of the photo and found that the man seen in the photo along with Mr. Modi is Raghavji Patel. He is a BJP MLA and minister of agriculture, animal husbandry, and cow breeding in Gujarat.
Mr. Patel has used the same photo as his display picture in his Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. He also posted the same image on 14 October 2021 when he met the Prime Minister.
Further, we searched for Odhav Patel and found that Odhavji Raghavji Patel was the founder of the Oreva Group. He passed away in 2012.
Currently, the Ajanta-Oreva Group is primarily led by Jaysukhbhai Bhalodia. He is the managing director of Ajanta Manufacturing Private Limited (AMPL) and the director of Ajanta Energy private limited (AEPL) and four other companies.
It is evident that the man in the photo with PM Modi is not the contractor who was given the contract to maintain the Morbi bridge. Hence, the claim is false.
