The Congress party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has been in the headlines since it has started. It has also managed to create a buzz on the social media circles as well. As the coverage of the Yatra increased, misinformation around the Yatra and Rahul Gandhi also began to surface.
We have fact checked many false claims on Bharat Jodo Yatra and Rahul Gandhi recently. You can read few of these fact checks by clicking here and here.
The most recent misinformation viral on social media is Rahul Gandhi meeting Amulya Leona, an activist who had chanted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ during an event in the presence of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi in Karnataka’s Shivapura, few years back.
However, when we found the claim made along with a viral image showing Rahul Gandhi with a young girl was false. The girl seen along with Rahul Gandhi is not Amulya Leona but a KSU leader from Ernakulam, Kerala.
False Narrative on Twitter
View Original Tweet Here – Twitter | Archived Link
In the above tweet, you can see two photos placed vertically suggesting that the Girl who Rahul Gandhi can be seen hugging in the photo on the top is the girl seen in the photo at the bottom. The caption of the tweet is as follows:
“Rahul Gandhi blessing & hugging the girl, who said “Pakistan Zindabad”, in his #BharatTodoYatra”
The girl seen in the photo given at the bottom is Amulya Leona. A young woman who made headlines after she raised Pro-Slogans at a rally in the presence of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
Amulya had raised Pro-Pak slogans while Owaisi was leaving the dais. This made the AIMIM chief to turn back and stop the young woman. Owaisi also condemned the incident. You can watch the incident in the video given below:
However, the woman seen with Rahul Gandhi is not Amulya Leona. Let’s find out who is the girl seen hugging the Wayanad M.P. in the viral picture.
Fact Check
We did a Google Reverse Image search on the viral image and found the Instagram post of the girl seen in the viral photo with Rahul Gandhi. The name of the girl is Miva Andreleo and she is a Kerala Students Union (KSU) leader from Ernakulam in Kerala.
Miva has also posted a video of her meeting Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Ernakulam on her Instagram feed. We can also see her photo with Congress M.P. and Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly, V.D. Satheesan on her feed as well.
View post on Instagram – miva_andreleo
We can see clearly in the image comparison given below, that both the girls in the viral photo are different. The girl with Rahul Gandhi is Miva Andreleo and not Amulya Leona.
Image Comparison of Amulya Leona’s photo taken from her Twitter handle with Miva’s photo taken from her Instagram account.
Our Malayalam fact checker, Deepa M spoke to Miva. When asked about the misleading claim on Twitter, Miva responded as follows: “This is my photo with Rahul Ji taken in Palarivattam area of Ernakulam during Bharat Jodo Yatra. You can see me walking with him in a video I have posted on Instagram. My photo with Rahul Ji is being shared with a false context.”
Conclusion
Rahul Gandhi did not meet Amulya Leona during his ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra. It is evident from our fact check that the young woman seen with Rahul Gandhi in the viral image is a KSU leader Miva Andreleo who met Gandhi during his Yatra in Ernakulam, Kerala.
Title:Photo of Rahul Gandhi with a KSU leader Goes Viral as Him Meeting Amulya Leona during Bharat Jodo Yatra…
Fact Check By: Harish NairResult: Misleading
