Photo of Smriti Irani greeting BJP leader Hukumdev Narayan Yadav shared as ‘rape guru’

Union Minister Smriti Irani recently claimed in Parliament that Rahul Gandhi said in a speech that ‘women should be raped’. She demanded that Gandhi should apologize for his statement. However, Irani’s claim was proved wrong. On December 17, Indrani Mishra, National Secretary of Mahila Congress, tweeted a picture of Smriti Irani which said, “ये लो…मैडम ‘रेप गुरु’ के आगे हाथ जोड़े मथा टेके खड़ी है…और माफी @RahulGandhi को मागणी पड़ेगी….@smritiirani जी…शर्म अापको छोड़ गयी या आप ने छोङ दिया (Here you are… Madam is standing in front of ‘Rape Guru’ with folded hands… and @RahulGandhi will have to apologise… @ smritiirani ji … did shame abandoned you or you left it).”

Indrani Mishra later deleted her tweet but its archived version can be accessed here. Alt News found many posts on Facebook and Twitter with the same claim.

A few claimed that the man is BJP MP Chinmayananda (archive) who was accused of rape by a law student in Uttar Pradesh.

बलात्कारी भाजपा सांसद चिन्मयानंद से आशीर्वाद लेता वरगद का पेड़ 🤓🤓 pic.twitter.com/qLkusawEcR

— Deepak jain (@Deepak_jain_PHA) December 16, 2019

What is the truth?

In the viral picture, Smriti Irani is greeting BJP leader Hukumdev Narayan Yadav from Bihar. He is an MP from Madhubani district.

Shri Hukumdev Narayan Yadav: Veteran Farmer Leader – Former Central Government Agriculture Minister and 6-time MP. #PeoplesPadma #PadmaBhushan pic.twitter.com/vVwCnvY1hj

— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) March 11, 2019

In an affidavit submitted by Yadav on the website of Chief Electoral Office of Bihar, there are no charges against him. Similarly, on myneta.info Hukumdev Narayan Yadav has no charges.

On December 17, Smriti Irani responded to Indrani Mishra on Twitter, “जिस सज्जन को आप इस चित्र में बदनाम कर रही हैं उनका नाम हुकुमदेव नारायण यादव है । पद्म भूषण से सम्मानित हुकुमदेव जी 1960 से लगातार देश सेवा में समर्पित हैं। दलित समाज एवं ग़रीब कल्याण के प्रति हुकुम देव जी ने अभूतपूर्व काम किया है।मेरा प्रणाम इन्होंने स्वीकार किया ये सौभाग्य है (The gentleman you are defaming in this picture is Hukumdev Narayan Yadav. Honoured with Padma Bhushan, Hukumdev ji has been continuously dedicated to the country since 1960. Dev Ji has done unprecedented work towards Dalit society and poor welfare. He accepted my greetings, this is a privilege).”

जिस सज्जन को आप इस चित्र में बदनाम कर रही हैं उनका नाम हुकुमदेव नारायण यादव है । पद्म भूषण से सम्मानित हुकुमदेव जी 1960 से लगातार देश सेवा में समर्पित हैं। दलित समाज एवं ग़रीब कल्याण के प्रति हुकुम देव जी ने अभूतपूर्व काम किया है।मेरा प्रणाम इन्होंने स्वीकार किया ये सौभाग्य है। https://t.co/NFIxWEoL1L

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) December 17, 2019

Indrani Mishra’s claim that Smriti Irani is greeting ‘rape guru’ is false. Some users also made the false claim that she is with BJP leader Chinmayananda. However, in the picture, Smriti Irani is greeting Bihar-based BJP leader Hukumdev Narayan Yadav.