A screen grab of a news bulletin featuring Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal climbing down a makeshift staircase has resurfaced on social media with claims that he was photographed during escaping his house, after anti-Citizenship Amendment Bill protests broke out in Assam.
The screen grab is from May, 2019, when Sonowal and Assam education minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya were on a trip to inspect a water project in the state.
In the image, Sonowal can be seen trying to climb down a ladder from a rooftop, as his aides look on. The image is viral in the wake of the mass protests that were held in Assam against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB). The bill will have provisions of granting Indian citizenship to minorities from six communities from the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Sonowal's image has been captioned as, "Did you recognise the person who is escaping from his house? Hint: He is the chief minister of a BJP ruled state."
अपने ही घर के पिछवाड़े से भागते इस व्यक्ति को पहचानते हैं..?
— Aakash_UK (@Aakash_UK) December 13, 2019
हिंट : एक राज्य के मुख्यमंत्री हैं।#AssamRejectsCAB #CABAgainstConstitution #CAB_नहीं_चलेगा pic.twitter.com/Hdnc0jKYIN
अपने ही घर के पिछवाड़े से भागते इस व्यक्ति को पहचानते हैं?*BJP का नेता है ये*
— sunil Adv.INC (@sunil47949870) December 14, 2019
हिंट : एक राज्य के मुख्यमंत्री हैं।
*असम, मिज़ोरम, त्रिपुरा और नागालैंड मे जनता संघ-भाजपा नेताओं को ढूँढ-ढूँढकर ठोक रही है*
pic.twitter.com/ghw3p040Jj
The photograph is viral on multiple Malyalam Facebook pages with a similar claim. They have been captioned as, "Following the mass protest, security officials of Assam CM is trying to rescue him through the roof top of CM's home.. This will happen to Modi and Amit in near future."
(Original text in Malyalam: 'ജനങ്ങളുടെ പ്രക്ഷോഭം കാരണം, ആസാമിലെ വീട്ടിൽ നിന്നും സംസ്ഥാന മുഖ്യമന്ത്രിയെ സെക്യൂരിറ്റിക്കാർ വീടിന്റെ മുകൾവശം വഴി രക്ഷിച്ചുകൊണ്ടുപോകുന്നതാണ് കാണുന്നത്....ഈ ഗതി മോഡിക്കും അമിട്ടിനും ഉടൻ ഉണ്ടാകാനാണ് സാധ്യത').
The bulletin reports about how Sonowal showed utmost dedication in inspecting projects which were underway in the state. Furthermore, Sonowal's efforts were also praised by Bhattacharya in the video, when he saw the CM climb down the stairs with minimum help.
Report about Sonowal taking stock of the progress of the construction work of the Greater Guwahati Water Supply Project in May can be read here.