Did PM Modi Wear Saudi Arabian Headdress to Impress Investors?
No he did not, the photo has been digitally altered.
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CLAIM
An image on social media purports to shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi donning a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headdress, during his one-day visit to Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, 29 October.
The image shared by Twitter handle My Fellow Indians claims that Modi wore the headdress to impress investors in Saudi Arabia.
The claim along with the image reads: “Paisa bhagwan nahi hota, lekin ya khuda, bhagwan se kam bhi nahi hota, (specially jab aap bhikari ban chuke ho)- Hindu Hriday Samrat @narendramodi dressing up to get investment in an economy destroyed by him. (Bhakton, don’t mind)” (Translated: Money is not God but it is no less than God, especially when you have become poor - great Hindu leader Narendra Modi dressing up to get an investment in an economy destroyed by him)
The same image is being shared on Facebook.
The archived version of the tweet can be viewed here.
WHAT’S THE TRUTH?
The image has been altered from its original version to make a misleading claim. In the original photo, which was taken during Modi’s one-day visit to Saudi Arabia, it can be clearly seen that PM Modi is not wearing any headdress.
Only the Governor of Riyadh HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud is seen wearing a keffiyeh.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
On conducting a reverse image search, we found a tweet shared by Raveesh Kumar, official spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), on Tuesday, 29 October.
The MEA spokesperson had shared a series of photos of Modi being given a ceremonial welcome by the Governor of Riyadh.
We compared the photo that shows Modi wearing a keffiyeh to the one shared by Raveesh Kumar, in which the alteration is evident.
The Twitter handle of PMO India had also shared several photos of Modi landing in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, in which he is again wearing no headdress.
India and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday inked a dozen agreements in several key sectors including oil and gas, defence and civil aviation to bolster their ties as Modi held extensive talks with the Kingdom's top leadership during which a Strategic Partnership Council was established to coordinate on important issues.
During his visit, Modi also addressed the Future Investment Initiative Forum, or ‘Davos in Desert’, where he said that India has the third largest start-up ecosystem in world. He also called Saudi Arabia “a power house for world economy” and the FII an “integral part of world business calendar”.
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