Is the photo of Amit Shah standing on Swastika real?

A photograph of Amit Shah addressing a rally was widely circulated on social media and soon became a subject of controversy. In the image, the BJP President can be seen addressing a crowd while standing on a chowki (stool) imprinted with the Swastika sign.

As religion remains a major political tool for the BJP, several Twitter users questioned Shah on the apparent hypocrisy of standing on the Hindu symbol. But there were also many others who came to the BJP leader’s defence.

However, several social media users remained unclear on whether the photograph was real or morphed.

NOT photoshopped

Alt News found that the photo was present on Amit shah’s official Facebook page. It was taken on December 1 when he was addressing a crowd in poll-bound Balotra, Rajasthan.

The post was captioned – “बालोतरा (राजस्थान): राहुल गांधी शायद भूल गए हो पर मैं उन्हें बताना चाहता हूं कि वीरभूमि राजस्थान की जनता कभी भी भारत के वीर सैनिकों के शौर्य और पराक्रम का अपमान करने वाली कांग्रेसी पार्टी का साथ नहीं दे सकती। (Balotra (Rajasthan): Rahul Gandhi might have forgotten but I want to remind him that the citizens of the land of braves, Rajasthan, can support Congress party which disrespects the gallantry and courage of brave soldiers.)”

Interestingly, the post with the image was deleted after the photograph went viral. Its archived link can be accessed here.

While Amit Shah’s reason for taking down the post is ambiguous, it remains clear that the image of the BJP chief standing on the Swastika sign is not photoshopped.