A picture of India’s Union Minister and the member of parliament from Arunachal Pradesh Kiren Rijiju is being shared on social media and mainstream media. It is claimed that Rijiju reached the Yangtze sector of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and met Indian army personnel.
Aaj Tak, while publishing the report with this picture, captioned- ” ‘Tawang is completely safe, says Kiren Rijiju after meeting soldiers in Arunachal.” (English Translation)
Source: Aajtak
Another user captioned: “ Tawang Clash: Modi government ministers reach where there was a clash with Chinese soldiers, tell how the situation is now”
Source: zee news
Apart from this, News-24 and Hindustan Newspaper have also posted the same picture in their report.
Source: News24
Source: Hindustan
Fact Check:
To know the reality of the viral picture. The DFRAC team conducted a reverse search. The team found the same image on Kiren Rijiju’s Twitter. Rijiju posted this picture on December 17, 2022. “Due to adequate deployment of brave soldiers of the Indian Army, the Yangtze area in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh is now completely safe,” he said.
Source: Twitter
On searching further, we found several pictures posted by Kiren Rijiju on October 29, 2019. This picture was shared by Rijiju on both his Facebook and Twitter.
Rijiju Facebook posts-
Source: Facebook
There are many similarities between the photo posted by Rijiju in 2019 and the photo posted in 2022. In both these photos, it can be seen that the background of the 2022 photo, Rijiju’s clothes, and army personnel are matching the background, clothes, and army personnel of the 2019 photo. You can see both photos in the collage below.
Conclusion:
It is clear from the fact check of DFRAC that Kiren Rijiju’s picture published in social media and mainstream media matches the background, clothes, and jawans of the picture posted in 2019. Therefore, the media’s claim is misleading.
