Image from 2014 viral as PM Modi meets Ambani’s grandchild at hospital

Industrialist Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Foundation chairwoman Nita Ambani recently became grandparents. An image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the couple is massively viral on social media. It has been shared with a caption in Hindi that says, “The man has reached the hospital to see his owner’s grandson but doesn’t have time to meet farmers who have been sitting in the cold and rain for 17 days.” (Archive link)

The same image is also shared on Twitter with the following message in Punjabi — “ਕੜਕਦੀ ਠੰਡ ਚ ਬੈਠੇ ਕਿਸਾਨਾਂ ਕੋਲ ਜਾਣ ਨੂੰ ਇਹਦੇ ਕੋਲ ਟਾਈਮ ਨਹੀ ,ਅੰਬਾਨੀ ਘਰ ਪੋਤਰਾ ਹੋਇਆਂ, ਵਧਾਈ ਦੇਣ ਹਸਪਤਾਲ ਵੀ ਪਹੁੰਚ ਗਿਆ ।”(Archive link)

ਕੜਕਦੀ ਠੰਡ ਚ ਬੈਠੇ ਕਿਸਾਨਾਂ ਕੋਲ ਜਾਣ ਨੂੰ ਇਹਦੇ ਕੋਲ ਟਾਈਮ ਨਹੀ ,ਅੰਬਾਨੀ ਘਰ ਪੋਤਰਾ ਹੋਇਆਂ, ਵਧਾਈ ਦੇਣ ਹਸਪਤਾਲ ਵੀ ਪਹੁੰਚ ਗਿਆ । pic.twitter.com/c9GAGDqt50

— 👩‍🌾किसान 👩‍🌾 (@australiavsp) December 12, 2020

Facebook user ‘ਪਰਮਜੀਤ ਬੂਹ ਹਵੇਲੀਆ’ also posted the image, drawing over 400 shares. (Archive link)

Several other Facebook users and groups (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) shared this image with Punjabi and Hindi captions.

Old image

The first clue which suggested that the image cannot be recent is PM Modi’s beard. The Prime Minister sports a much longer beard currently than the one in the picture.

A reverse image search took us to an article published by India Today on October 25, 2014. It has been captioned, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani, and industrialist Mukesh Ambani after the inauguration of HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai.” This image has been flipped and shared online.

The image, therefore, is not recent. It is from 2014 when PM Modi went to visit Bombay HN Reliance Foundation Hospital.