A morphed image showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting with United States President Joe Biden at his residence in New Delhi is circulating with a false claim that a painting present behind the duo depicted a scene from the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
In the painting, Hindu god Krishna can be seen riding the chariot of one of the Pandava brothers Arjuna during the battle of Kurukshetra.
BOOM found that the photograph has been morphed. The original photo from PM Modi's residence does not show any such painting present when he met his US-counterpart Joe Biden at his residence in 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi.
President of the US Joe Biden was present in Delhi to attend the 2023 G20 New Delhi summit that was held on September 9 and 10. PM Modi held a bilateral talk with the US President on September 8 at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence in New Delhi. As per reports, the two leaders discussed about the strategic partnership between India and United States during the meet. Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval were also present at the meeting from the Indian side.
The photo is being shared with the caption, "From I.N.D.I.A to BHARAT, change is now clearly visible".
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BJP leader from Bihar, Devesh Kumar posted the photo with a similar claim.
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Fact Check
BOOM noticed that the morphed image was posted by an X (formerly Twitter) user named @Atheist_Krishna who frequently posts photoshopped images on social media.
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Taking a cue, we went through the images posted from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official X handle and spotted the same image uploaded on September 8, 2023.
PM Modi posted the photo with three other images from the meeting saying, "Happy to have welcomed United States President Joe Biden to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Our meeting was very productive. We were able to discuss numerous topics which will further economic and people-to-people linkages between India and USA. The friendship between our nations will continue to play a great role in furthering global good."
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We noticed that the original photo was edited to add the painting depicting the scene from Mahabharata. The Mahabharata painting is in fact available on several e-commerce platforms. In the original image, an off-white coloured wall with a transparent motif design can be noticed in the background. The comparison can be seen below.
The video of PM Modi having a conversation with US President Joe Biden was also uploaded on PMO India's official YouTube channel on September 8, 2023. It can be seen below.