Fact-Check: Misleading claim about only Sonia Gandhi meeting WC-winning team in 2007 viral
New Delhi: A photo of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi posing with the 2007 Indian cricket World Cup winning team has gone viral on social media, sparking controversy. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared the image, claiming that Gandhi met the team despite not being the Prime Minister, suggesting she did so due to 'her privilege'. The insinuation was that the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not get the opportunity to meet the team.
The Truth: This claim is misleading. Archival photos and reports confirm that the winning team also met with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 30, 2007.
Investigation:
1. Reverse Image Search: Conducting a reverse image search on the viral photo led to the same image on Getty Images. The description revealed that Sonia Gandhi, then Chairperson of India's UPA Government and Congress Party president, posed with the Indian cricket team at her residence in New Delhi on October 30, 2007.
2. Further Evidence: A similar Getty Images photo showed that the 2007 T20 Cricket World Cup winners also met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil.
3. Keyword Search: Using the keywords 'Manmohan Singh meets cricket team 2007 world cup' on Google led to a Times of India report published on October 31, 2007. This report included images of the team with Singh and noted that he was accompanied by Ambika Soni, Prithviraj Chavan, and Rajeev Shukla, among others.
4. Additional Images: Further images from October 30, 2007, were found in the PMO archives, showing Singh with the 2007 T20 Cricket World Cup winners.
Conclusion: The claim that only Sonia Gandhi met with the Indian cricket World Cup team in 2007 is misleading. The team also met with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, confirming that both leaders had interactions with the players.
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Challenge ahead is to meet people's expectations: Devendra Fadnavis
Mumbai (PTI): BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, all set to become Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time, on Wednesday underlined the challenges before the new government and said the real struggle lies in fulfilling the people's expectations.
Speaking after being elected as leader of the state BJP legislature party ahead of Thursday's swearing-in ceremony, he also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for placing faith in him.
"Our responsibility has increased. We need to work harder. The struggle ahead is about meeting the expectations people have from us. We must work in tandem with our allies to achieve this," he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had the people's mandate in 2019 but "it was taken away", he said, apparently referring to the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray severing its ties with the BJP over the chief minister's post and forming government in alliance with the Congress and undivided NCP.
"For the first two and a half years, we faced targeted opposition, but not a single MLA left us. We came to power in 2022, and now, we have achieved a thumping majority in this election," said the 54-year-old politician from Nagpur.
Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fadnavis said, "I thank the prime minister for selecting someone like me, who has worked as a party worker, to serve in this role three times. Ek hain to safe hai, aur Modi hain to Mumkin hai (United we are safe, and with Modi, everything is possible)."
The new Mahayuti government of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party would be sworn in at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on Thursday following the coalition's landslide victory in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.
