Elections in five states (Rajasthan, Mizoram, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh) will be held this year as the term of their assemblies is ending soon. Ahead of the assembly election, an alleged image of AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi interacting with PM Modi is going viral on social media claiming as recent. In the past, opposition leaders have accused AIMIM of being BJP’s “B team”.
A Facebook user shared this image and wrote, “आने वाले चुनावों की तैयारी के लिए ओवैसी जी को ट्रेनिंग देते हुए देश के प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी देश के नौजवानों जरा सतर्क रहना सत्ता के लिए कुछ भी हो सकता है.” [English translation: The Prime Minister of the country, Shri Narendra Modi, while giving training to Owaisi ji to prepare for the upcoming elections, the youth of the country, be cautious, anything can happen for the power.]
This Facebook post can be seen here. Similar posts can be seen here, here and here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the post, and found it to be false.
Putting the image through Reverse Image Search, our team found a similar image on the official Facebook handle of AIMIM leader and Caravan MLA Kausar Mohiuddin, who termed the viral image as ‘Fake’.
We also found the same image shared by Instagram user akbar_uddin_owaisi_official, dated September 27, saying this photo was edited. The caption of the image reads: “Complaint & FIR booked under 469,505(2) of IPC. on Facebook posting morphed Picture of AIMIM Chief and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi sir and Member Of Parliament Imtiyaz Jaleel Aurangabad, complain, by #Mohd Irfan Khan AIMIM.”
View this post on Instagram
Searching further, we found a picture of PM Modi on his verified X handle, dated October 9, 2018, in which he can be seen sitting in the same pose as seen in the viral image. However, he was sitting with Canada’s opposition leader, Andrew Searle, and not Asaduddin Owaisi. It reads: “Pleased to meet Andrew Searle, Leader of Canada’s Opposition. Emphasised the importance of strong India-Canada relations and wished him a pleasant stay in India.”
Happy to meet Hon. @AndrewScheer, Canada’s Leader of the Opposition.
Stressed the significance of strong India-Canada relations and wished him a pleasant stay in India. pic.twitter.com/orO4y3grSp
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 9, 2018
With the help of Google Lens, our team also found a similar picture shared by an Instagram user named Shariq Naxbandi. According to the bio, Shariq Naqshbandi is the city president of AIMIM Aurangabad. The caption reads: “Some Lighter Moment With Br @asadowaisiofficial And @imtiazjaleelofficial.”
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We then compared the viral image with the original image to draw the similarities. Below one can see the comparison.
Thus, it is clear that the viral image is edited and presented out of context.
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