Image Of Navjot Singh Sidhu Holding A Photo Of Indira Gandhi Is Fake

A photo of newly appointed Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu holding a photo of late former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, during a roadshow in Amritsar, Punjab is morphed and fake. BOOM found that Sidhu was holding a photo of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh which has been photoshopped with Gandhi's face.

Sidhu was appointed as the president cum Chief of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee on July 18, 2021, in the backdrop of reports of a deep divide between him and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh over his appointment in the party.

The photo is being shared with a caption in Gurmukhi script that translates to, "these Congressmen are going to bow down to Harmandir Sahib. Can any congressman tell what message is he giving to the people especially to the Sikhs by taking this photo?"

(Original text - ਹਰਿਮੰਦਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਮੱਥਾ ਟੇਕਣ ਚੱਲੇ ਨੇ ਇਹ ਕਾਂਗਰਸੀ । ਆਹ ਫੋਟੋ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਰਾਹ ਚ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਖਾਸ ਕਰਕੇ ਸਿੱਖਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਕੀ ਸੁਨੇਹਾ ਦੇ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਕੋਈ ਕਾਗਰਸੀ ਦਸ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ ?)

Click here to view

Viral on Facebook

On searching with the same caption on Facebook, we found several posts sharing the doctored image.

Also Read: Old Video Revived As Match Between RSS And Pakistan Wrestlers

The fake image appears to stoke the anti-Indira Gandhi sentiment among the Sikh community on account of the bloody 1984 anti-Sikh riots that broke out across the country following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.

FACT-CHECK

BOOM found that the viral photo has been morphed and in the original photo Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu is seen holding a photo of the freedom fighter Bhagat Singh during a roadshow in Amritsar, Punjab on July 20, 2021. Bhagat Singh's photo in the frame has been swapped with a photo of Indira Gandhi.

On performing a reverse image search we found the original photo in a report by India Today on the roadshow dated July 20, 2021.

India Today news report

We can also see the same in this photo tweeted on the roadshow in this Twitter thread below

A comparison of the original photo and the edited photo clearly shows that Indira Gandhi's photo has been photoshopped.