Fact Check: PM Modi's leaked photo with luxury watch inside expensive home? No, it's AI-generated
New Delhi: Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, a war of words has unfolded between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over allegations of extravagance at the chief minister’s residence. While BJP leaders criticised former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for constructing a lavish ‘Sheesh Mahal’ for himself, the AAP hits back, accusing prime minister Narendra Modi of residing in a ‘Rajmahal’ worth Rs 2,700 crores.
In this context, an image of PM Modi seemingly wearing an expensive watch in a room showcasing wall-to-wall expensive objects has gone viral.
An X user shared the image and wrote, “This photo was secretly sent by an employee working at the PM’s residence but sends his children to the schools built by Arvind Kejriwal. He secretly clicked this picture today at 3 pm while the PM was wearing this costly watch. He revealed that in this ‘Rajmahal’, there are separate rooms dedicated to expensive luxury items such as fancy suits, shoes, glasses, pens and other indulgent items. With Rs 2,700 crores spent, what isn’t possible, brother?” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
Fact Check
Claim: The leaked image shows prime minister Narendra Modi wearing an expensive watch in one of the luxurious rooms at his residence.
Fact: The claim is false. The image is AI-generated.
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The ‘leaked photo from PM’s residence’ is an AI-generated image.
Upon close examination of the image, we identified a watermark for ‘Grok AI’. Grok Image Generator is a generative AI tool designed to create art and visuals from text inputs. Its official website states that it is specifically built for artistic creations.
Further scrutiny of the image revealed several inconsistencies, common among AI-generated images.
Some of the obvious discrepancies include the frame of the prime minister’s spectacles appearing incomplete and fingers showing visible distortion. Additionally, the overly glossy texture of the image and the blurred background are signs of AI-generated media.
Next, we ran the image through AI detection tools to decide its authenticity.
Hive Moderation identified the image as AI-generated with an aggregate confidence score of 98.4 per cent. Wasitai confirmed that the image, or a substantial portion of it, was created by AI. Another tool, AI Image Detector, analysed the image and determined it to be 53.26 per cent AI-generated and 45.18 per cent human-generated.
Therefore, we conclude that the viral image was fabricated using AI.
(This story was originally published by News Meter, and republished by english.varthabharti.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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Karnataka to approach SC seeking permission to continue MGNREGA
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday decided to approach the Supreme Court seeking permission to continue implementation of MGNREGA in the state, contending that the Centre had repealed the rural employment guarantee law without consultation and failed to put in place any alternative mechanism under the VB-G RAM G Act.
Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state would immediately move the apex court seeking permission to prepare and implement the annual action plan for rural employment works, while also challenging what it described as an infringement on the constitutional rights of states.
The parliament passed VB-G RAM G in December that replaces MGNREGA.
Patil explained that the Cabinet decided to approach the court seeking permission for the State Government to prepare an action plan in this regard. Since the Centre’s stand interferes with the constitutional rights of state governments, the Cabinet has also decided to challenge this issue before the appropriate court
“There are two points here. One is that they have come in the way of our constitutional right of providing the right to work. That has been halted, and, therefore, the State Government has decided to approach the Supreme Court. The second point is that the Government of India has not provided any alternative,” the Minister said.
The Central Government has not yet issued a notification to implement the VB-G RAM G Act, nor has it made any alternative arrangements and hence continuing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is unavoidable in the public interest, the Minister said.
“Therefore, in the interest of the public, farmers and agricultural labourers, we must continue MGNREGA. For that purpose, the Cabinet has decided to approach the court seeking permission for the State Government to prepare the action plan for this year,” he added.
The Minister also said the Centre had only permitted continuation of pending and spillover MGNREGA works without releasing grants or announcing a fresh action plan.
“The Centre itself has said that pending, spillover and half-done MGNREGA works can continue. That means MGNREGA is actually still functioning in practice. But there is no new action plan,” he said.
Patil said the state had already passed a resolution on the issue, while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had written to the Prime Minister and the Rural Development Minister had held discussions with Union Ministers.
Replying to questions, the minister said the state would move court “as immediately as possible.”
He clarified that the state was seeking permission to formulate and implement this year’s action plan under the existing framework.
“What we are asking the Supreme Court is to allow us to have the action plan for this year and implement it,” he said.
The Cabinet also held detailed discussions on the final report submitted by the State Education Policy Commission headed by former UGC chairman Professor Sukhadeo Thorat.
Patil said a Cabinet sub-committee would be constituted to examine the report and recommend measures for implementation.
“No decision has been taken yet. The Cabinet sub-committee will recommend what should be accepted and what should be modified,” he said.
He said the report comprised around eight volumes and covered issues relating to financial implications, human resources, curriculum reforms, deemed universities, unitary universities and newly established universities. The Chief Minister has been authorised to constitute the sub-committee.
The Cabinet also approved the Karnataka Motor Transport and Other Related Workers’ Social Security and Welfare Amendment Bill, 2026, transferring welfare administration of transport-related workers from the Labour Department to the Transport Department.
The Cabinet further approved establishment of three new industrial estates in Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Surpur under the Karnataka State Small Industries Development Corporation and Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board schemes at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore.
The Cabinet also approved amendments to Karnataka Civil Services (General Recruitment) Rules, 2026, providing two per cent reservation in state civil services appointments for sportspersons.
