Image Shows Secret Meeting Between BJP and Congress? No, the Claim Is Misleading

This picture dated back to 2021 and was taken during a meeting of leaders from different parties with Om Birla.

Fact-Check | The image dates back to 2021 and is not recent as claimed.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and Sonia Gandhi is going viral on the internet.

What are users claiming?: Social media users have shared the picture mentioning that it is from a secret meeting that was held between the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

An archive of the tweet can be seen here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

What is the truth?: The picture dates back to August 2021 and was taken when top leaders from different political parties met the Lok Sabha speaker in his official chamber after the lower house was adjourned sine dine.

What led us to the truth?: The Quint had reported and covered the updates of the meeting on 11 August 2021.

• It carried a similar picture but from a different angle. It mentioned that the meeting was reportedly a customary affair after the end of a parliamentary session.

• All the leaders were seen wearing the same clothes as in the viral image.

• Apart from the leaders seen in the picture, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi and other MPs from YSR Congress Party, Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal were also present.

• The image was attributed to Press Trust of India (PTI), which we also found on their website by using keywords such as "Om Birla".

A comparison between both the pictures clearly shows similarities.

(Source: PTI image/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

• Further, we also came across the viral image uploaded on PTI.

The viral image was uploaded in August 2021.

(Source: PTI/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

• The report further carried a tweet from Birla that said, "After the proceedings of the Lok Sabha were adjourned indefinitely, I urged the leaders of all parties to encourage discussion and dialogue in the House in future for the welfare of the people and to remove their shortcomings."

Conclusion: The image is old and shows meeting of top leaders from different political parties with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

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