The picture of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi shared by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is not from the US as he claims, but from USSR in 1955. Here is how fact checking of the photo proved it.
New Delhi: In a hurry to take a dig at PM Modi after the success of Howdy Modi event in Houston, US, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter to post a picture of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi and claimed that even the former PM had visited the US and enjoyed vast support. But here is the problem with the picture.
Several netizens claimed that the picture Shashi Tharoor posted is fake as it was not taken in the US, but in Moscow, Russia in 1955.
"Nehru & India Gandhi in the US in 1954. Look at the hugely enthusiastic spontaneous turnout of the American public, without any special PR campaign, NRI crowd management or hyped-up media publicity," stated MP Tharoor's Tweet.
Nehru & India Gandhi in the US in 1954. Look at the hugely enthusiastic spontaneous turnout of the American public, without any special PR campaign, NRI crowd management or hyped-up media publicity. pic.twitter.com/aLovXvCyRz
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor)But after netizens slammed and exposed the source of the photo, Tharoor replied saying that even though the photo was taken in Moscow, it still doesn't alter the message: the fact is that former PMs also enjoyed popularity abroad.
"I am told this picture (forwarded to me) probably is from a visit to the USSR and not the US. Even if so, it still doesn't alter the message: the fact is that former PMs also enjoyed popularity abroad. When @narendramodi is honoured, @PMOIndia is honoured; respect is for India," he tweeted.
Tharoor is being slammed for the reply. One of the Twitterati wrote: "Instead of apologising for ur mistake, u have still tried to prove yourself right. Never expected from u."
Apparently the photo Shashi Tharoor shared was taken during Nehru and Indira Gandhi's visit to Magnitogorsk (USSR).
The Russian search engine, Yandex, that is equivalent to Google Search in other parts of the country, shows that the picture of Nehru and Indira Gandi was taken in Moscow in 1955.
Residents of Magnitogorsk welcome the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi. Chelyabinsk region, June 1955, says the translation of the Tweet from @Pablo_mrz.
The picture also can be found in Reddit with the caption stating that it was taken during their USSR visit in 1955.
The link takes to the same picture Shashi Tharoor has posted with a caption: "Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira in Moscow - 1956" (It can be noted that the year specified here is 1956).
Here is also a video from the personal archive of a man named David Bejitashvili that shows the moment when the picture of Nehru and Indira Gandhi was probably clicked.
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