New Delhi: A morphed image showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s portrait at the house of an auto rickshaw driver, who had invited Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for dinner during his visit to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, is being widely shared on social media.
Several Twitter users, while sharing the image, pointed out how it was “an embarrassment” for Kejriwal since he visited the man’s house assuming he was his admirer but found out that he was a “Modi follower”.
केजरीवाल जी जिनके घर गए वह लोग तो @narendramodi जी के दीवाने निकले केजरीवाल जी को मामूँ बना दिया! pic.twitter.com/v1adOziwtd
— Wasim R Khan (@wasimkhan0730) September 12, 2022
BJP’s Mumbai Minority Morcha president Wasim R Khan said that Kejriwal had become a mamu (fool) as he ended up at a house whose members were “crazy” about Modi. The tweet has gotten over 14,000 likes and been retweeted nearly 2,000 times, since it was put out on Monday.
The auto driver, Vikram Dantani, who was a resident of Ghatlodia in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, had requested Kejriwal to have dinner at his home Monday, stating he was a “big fan” of the Aam Aadmi Party leader.
He extended the invitation when Kejriwal was addressing auto rickshaw drivers in Ahmedabad, during his two-day tour to Gujarat where elections are due in December.
AAP has been aggressively campaigning in the state, making its achievements in the health and education sectors in Delhi its USP. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is countering the party with a campaign about the alleged liquor scam and governance failures in the national capital.
Twitter users were quick to revel in the fake news, jokingly terming it a “hit-job” against Kejriwal and called it his “advertisement” for Gujarat election.
Was it a hit job by the auto driver ?? https://t.co/WrbWqvkKSq
— Vikram (I am Modi) ?? (@imvikverma) September 13, 2022
ये केजरीवाल का विज्ञापन मॉडल है। https://t.co/m4emP8ER4J
— Binod Bhartia (@binod_bhartia) September 13, 2022
Others lauded it as an evidence of the prime minister’s power that “resides in every home in the country” and how it would be impossible for Kejriwal to make inroads in “PM Modi’s fort”. Few also claimed that Modi was the “elder son” of the state and it would be very difficult to break the symbolic “father-son” relationship.
मोदीजी देश के हर घर में बसते हैं https://t.co/cLxhgTvi2V
— अमित बाजपेई (@AmitKBajpai1) September 14, 2022
???? Wo PM shrew @narendramodi ji ka Fort hai usko bhedna Namumkin hai https://t.co/ESro6UwB5k
— Kamlendra Singh Jhala (@jhala_kamlendra) September 13, 2022
इस बेवकूफ को जल्द ही समझ आजाएगा की बेटे को उसके परिवार से जुदा करना बेहद मुश्किल है ओर मोदीजी तो गुजरात के पहले ओर बड़े बेटे है https://t.co/wL63fu69JK
— स्यंव सेवक (@Akashsingh6315) September 13, 2022
Truth behind the image
The original photo was tweeted by the AAP chief himself on 12 September. In the image, no portrait of PM Modi can be seen at Dantani’s home.
The pictures were also shared by AAP’s official Twitter handle, praising Kejriwal for not being a “leader” but a “son of public”.
This wasn’t the first instance of the AAP chief going for a meal at the home of his supporters. Last year in November, Kejriwal had gone to have dinner at an auto rickshaw driver’s home in Punjab. The event propelled Dantani to invite the leader to his home, according to news reports.
नेता नहीं, जनता का बेटा ❤️#KejriwalRukegaNahi pic.twitter.com/i0w3azQdqc
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) September 12, 2022
A few BJP supporters denounced posting of “edited images” and urged others to not circulate them. “We are not like Left wing people who will spread fake things.. Right wing people should fight with dignity,” one user wrote.
This modi pic on wall is photo shopped.. Please don’t circulate it.. We are not like left wing people who will spread fake things.. Right wing people should fight with dignity. pic.twitter.com/EsHMc1JngR
— Crime Master Gogo ?? (@vipul2777) September 12, 2022
(In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer)
Also read: Viral video shared by Chhattisgarh Congress of BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s Raipur rally is edited