A video has gone viral on social media showing PM Narendra Modi ignoring outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind in his farewell ceremony, and rather facing the camera.
A short 6-second clip of the farewell event has been widely circulated on the internet, particularly on the microblogging site Twitter. Esteemed dignitaries including Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also attended the ceremony on July 23 along with members of the Parliament.
The video shows PM Narendra Modi allegedly disrespecting President Kovind by not acknowledging his greeting and instead being fixated on the cameras. Ram Nath Kovind can be seen approaching the Prime Minister with folded hands, but Narendra Modi does not even look at him.
“Photoshoot is more important than expressing gratitude to the first person of the country.”, wrote some Twitter users in the caption, while some users wrote on Facebook, “When ‘Photograph’ is more important than the outgoing ‘President’.
The video has been tweeted by verified users and leaders from the opposition ranks.
When ‘Photograph’ is more important than the outgoing ‘President’ 📸 @KTRTRS pic.twitter.com/27wQrhe2Gj
— YSR (@ysathishreddy) July 23, 2022
‘Such an insult, very sorry Sir. These people are like this, your term is over, now they will not even look at you,’ tweeted Aam Admi party’s Sanjay singh. TRS social media convener Y. Satish Reddy also tweeted the clip, with the caption: ‘When ‘Photograph’ is more important than the outgoing ‘President’’.
मोदी जी कैमरे के लिए किसी को भी नजरअंदाज कर सकते है। pic.twitter.com/GpcXY6zTtF
— Neeraj Kundan (@Neerajkundan) July 24, 2022
Virendra Chaudhary, a Congress MLA from Uttar Pradesh, shared the video tagging PM Modi as ‘Camerajeevi.’ (word play on Modi’s coined term ‘Andolanjeevi’).
The president of Congress’ student wing National Student Union of India also shared the clip which was later retweeted by NSUI’s official handle. “Modi ji can ignore anyone for the camera,” read the tweet by Neeraj Kundan.
Original Video Link: https://youtu.be/sW_gFzcRX7I
However, fact-check sources have confirmed that though the viral video was not created, it was trimmed. In the original video, Modi can be seen greeting Ram Nath Kovind during the latter’s farewell event in the Parliament.
President Ram Nath Kovind attended the farewell function in the Central Hall of Parliament today.
Details: https://t.co/cu7Gsg4wGj pic.twitter.com/CvCZzgwdDZ
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) July 23, 2022
The original video of the farewell ceremony was uploaded on the YouTube Channel Narendra Modi on July 23. Ram Nath Kovind is seen greeting the guests with folded hands. When he greeted the Prime Minister the same way, Narendra Modi responded respectfully with the same gesture and a smile. As Kovind went on to greet and talk to other dignitaries, the PM looked towards the other side.
The entire sequence of events can be found on Sansad TV as well.
Verdict:
The claim that PM Modi ignored President Kovind at his farewell ceremony is absolutely false.
**Jooth Bole Kawa Kate**
References: India Today, The Print
Featured Image Source: Tamil-Asianet News
