Fact Check: Nirmala Sitharaman is not meeting her dad in viral clip

In the past couple of days, several social media users have shared a video of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman meeting an elderly man, claiming that he is the minister’s father who lives a simple life. Many of them praised the politician for her respect for traditions in front of her father.

A Twitter handle named @rvaidya2000 claimed the video was shot at Sithraman’s house. The caption on the video also reads ‘A father accords a royal traditional welcome to his daughter which she politely sidesteps and introduces her colleagues to her father:)).’ This video was tweeted on January 8, 2023. The tweet has gone viral with over 221,000 views at the time of the writing of this article.

at Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s father’s house. A father accords a royal traditional welcome to his daughter which she politely sidesteps and introduces her colleagues to her father:)) RT pic.twitter.com/xVUVItktQJ

— RVAIDYA2000 🕉️ (@rvaidya2000) January 8, 2023

The very same video was also shared by a handle named @rashtrawadi_aks with a similar claim. This tweet was published on January 5, 2023, and has over 400 views.

साधारण व्यक्ति
साधारण रहन सहन
असाधारण व्यक्तित्व
वित्त मंत्री भारत सरकार
श्रीमती निर्मला सीतारमन अपने पिता से मिलने मायके में गयी हैं#Finance #minister#NirmalaSitharaman #India #modiji की #Cabinet pic.twitter.com/qOcjktq92E

— Anoop Kumar Singh (@rashtrawadi_aks) January 5, 2023

A Twitter user called @ArunM1964 also shared the video on the platform with similar captions.

केंद्रीय वित्त मंत्री निर्मला सीतारमण।
अपने पिता के साथ कितनी सादगी, सरलता और संस्कारवान निम्न मध्यम वर्ग जैसा रहन सहन है।
धन्य हैं निर्मलाजी और उनके पिताश्री जो सादगी, ईमानदारी और हिंदुत्व की अद्भुत मिसाल हैं।
सरकारी बाबू, पटवारी, सिपाही, सरपंच भी इससे अधिक ठाठ-बाट से रहते हैं। pic.twitter.com/0lVN65bnih

— ASM (@ArunM1964) January 8, 2023

Fact Check

Alt News broke down the viral video into key-frames using InVid. We then performed a reverse image search on one of the stills using Google Lens. This led us to an Instagram post by Nirmala Sitharaman’s official handle which featured the same video. The caption reads, ‘Visited Siva Madam in Varanasi yesterday and interacted with the family members of Mahakavi Bharathiyar, including his 96-year-old great nephew Shri K. V. Krishnan. #KashiTamilSangamam.’

For additional verification, we performed a Google search using relevant keywords and found a press release by PIB Chennai from December 2, 2022. The same stated the visit of the finance minister to Siva Madam in Varanasi on December 3rd 2022.

We also found pictures taken at this event uploaded on the minister’s official Twitter handle, where it yet again says that she met with the family members of Mahakavi Bharathiyar, including his 96-year-old great nephew Shri K. V. Krishnan.

Smt @nsitharaman visits Siva Madam in Varanasi and interacts with the family members of Mahakavi Bharathiyar, including his 96-year-old great nephew Shri K. V. Krishnan. #KashiTamilSangamam pic.twitter.com/sdb1sR1Tfs

— NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) December 3, 2022

Therefore, the video going viral on social media of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly meeting her father is baseless. She actually met K V Krishnan, the great nephew of the renowned Tamil poet Bharathiyar in Varanasi.

Vansh Shah is an intern with Alt News.