Did the Italian Prime Minister Refuse to Shake PM Modi’s Hand?

The picture was taken when PM Meloni had her hands folded while PM Modi offered his hands for a handshake but the confusion was quickly cleared and both shook each other’s hands.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently paid her first state visit to India on 2 March, 2023. Soon after she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in Delhi, an image has gone viral on social media, showing Modi raising his hand for a handshake with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, while she is doing greetings by joining both hands.Those sharing the photo claimed that PM Meloni refused to shake hands with PM Modi.

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Fact Check-

We began our investigation by conducting a keyword search on Google, which led us to several videos and news reports which contained the same image. On 2 March, 2023, a video was posted to Doordarshan National’s official YouTube channel. Modi can be seen in the video greeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Rashtrapati Bhawan, where she was given a ceremonial welcome. PM escorted her to the car at the end of the ceremony to bid her farewell.

PM Modi can be seen shaking hands with Meloni at 7.42 seconds into the video. PM Meloni’s hands were folded for a brief moment while PM Modi extended his hands for a handshake, but the confusion was quickly cleared and both shook each other’s hands.

In a further search, we found the same video was uploaded on PMO India’s official handle as well.

According to reports, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was presented with a Guard of Honour at Rashtrapati Bhawan. She was the Chief Guest at the 8th edition of the Raisina Dialogue held in New Delhi. Visuals from the event can be found on the news agency ANI’s YouTube channel.

Conclusion–

Fact Crescendo found that the image misses the complete picture and was shared with a misleading claim. The picture was taken when PM Meloni had her hands folded while PM Modi offered his hands for a handshake but the confusion was quickly cleared and both shook each other’s hands.