Ever since Indian Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, was held captive by Pakistan after his MiG 21 fighter jet was hit, he has been in the headlines and top on social media trends.
A claim has been making rounds on social media, according to which Wing Commander Abhinandan’s father, Simhakutty Varthaman, has joined the Congress party.
A Facebook page attributed to Congress leader and Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot shared the above post which read: अभिनंदन के पिता कांग्रेस मे शामिल हुवे इनका कांग्रेस परिवार में हार्दिक अभिनंदन | (Translation: Congratulations to Abinandan’s father for joining Congress family.)
However, this was not the verified Facebook page of Sachin Pilot.
At the time of filing this report, the post had got over 6,200 shares by users on Fakebook
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Several other profiles and pages share the same claim with the picture of Abhinandan and his father.
FACT CHECK
When NewsMobile came across the above claim, we decided to fact-check it.
Since there was no news report on Air Marshal Simhakutty Varthaman (Abhinandan’s father) joining the Congress party, NewsMobile called up the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to authenticate the claim.
ALSO READ: This Twitter account of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is FAKE!
The official at the AICC told NewsMobile that there is no official confirmation by the senior leadership of the party.
Moreover, there has been no such claim made by any official social media of the Congress party.
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