Was Uddhav Thackeray Bowing Down With Folded Hands In Front Of Rahul Gandhi?

Recently an image of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray bowing down with folded hands in front of Rahul Gandhi went viral on social media. The image was forwarded to our 24X7 Factline number 9049053770 requesting a fact check.

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The image is going viral on other social platforms like X and Facebook as well.

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However, as we investigated, we came to know that the viral image had been edited. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by conducting a reverse image search and as a result, we found an image similar to the viral image in a report published on the Ahmedabad Mirror website on 8 August 2024. In that image, Uddhav Thackeray can be seen standing alongside Rahul Gandhi while Rahul Gandhi was holding a bouquet.

The report read, “Shiv Sena-UBT supremo Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday dropped hints that he was ready to be projected as the chief ministerial face in the Maharashtra Assembly elections likely to be held in October.

Thackeray’s comments came on a day when he met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal and other INDIA bloc representatives here. Thackeray was accompanied by his son Aditya and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut.

“The farmers and youngsters of Maharashtra are fed up with the opportunistic BJP-led alliance. The 13 crore people of Maharashtra are looking towards change,” Kharge said on X after the meeting. Gandhi said the meeting with Thackeray was held in the context of the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra.

“The Maha Vikas Aghadi will contest the elections together and win,” he said on his WhatsApp channel.

“If my colleagues (in MVA) feel that I have done excellent work, then ask them whether they want me as the chief minister. People will decide,” Thackeray told reporters here before meeting the Congress leadership.

Thackeray also met NCP-SP supremo Sharad Pawar, who had played a key role in stitching together the MVA coalition after the 2019 assembly elections. PTI”

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The same image was found on the official website of the Indian National Congress along with other images.

According to the description of the images, Shiv Sena UBT Chairman Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge & Leader of Opposition (LS) Rahul Gandhi.

In these images, Uddhav Thackeray was wearing a kurta of a different colour, and in the viral image, the colour of his kurta was different. 

A comparison between the two can be seen below.

Moving forward, we found a tweet from the official X handle of Shiv Sena UBT saying the viral image had been edited.

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Further, on the Facebook page of the Times Of India, we found the image of Uddhav Thackeray bowing down with folded hands, not in front of Rahul Gandhi but while meeting Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s parents.

According to the post, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Uddhav Thackeray, Aditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut met Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s parents, daughter and wife Sunita Kejriwal. AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha were also present.

We found the same images on the X handle of NDTV, which were uploaded on 8 August 2024.

A comparison between the viral image and the original image can be seen below.

This makes it clear that the viral image has been edited.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the viral image has been edited. The viral image was edited by combining two different images to make it look like Uddhav Thackeray was bowing down with folded hands in front of Rahul Gandhi.