Recently, the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, presented the Bharat Ratna to veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani. The official X account of the President has displayed many visuals on this event. Against the backdrop, many users on social media have shared one image, saying that PM Modi and Advani exhibited disrespect towards President Murmu, who holds the highest constitutional office in India, by remaining seated while she was standing.
A Facebook user posted with a caption: “New India.. Recipient of Bharat Ratna & PM are sitting while President is standing..This depicts where the position of Dalits and lady stands in Modi’s India.. Draupadi Murmu, President of India did not get a call to inaugurate the New Parliament House even..”.
The above post can be seen here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be MISLEADING.
Searching for more images of the ceremony posted on the official X account of the President of India — ‘@rashtrapatibhvn’, dated March 31, 2024, the NM team came to know that the event took place at Advani’s residence. It was attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, PM Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and various other dignitaries.
We noticed that in the fourth photo shared within the thread, President Murmu, LK Advani, and PM Modi are seen seated. This indicates that after presenting Advani with the honour, the President also took a seat. Significantly, a photograph included in the post displays President Murmu seated alongside PM Modi and LK Advani, with the medal around Advani’s neck, suggesting that the image was captured after he had been presented with the award.
Searching further, we also found additional visuals of the ceremony on the verified YouTube channel of the President of India, dated March 31, 2024, affirming that President Murmu was already seated before presenting the Bharat Ratna to Advani.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the image, showing President Murmu standing while presenting LK Advani with the Bharat Ratna, is misleading.
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