An image showing P V Prabhakar Rao, the son of the late Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, receiving the posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna on behalf of his father from President of India Draupadi Murmu is viral on social media. In the photo, most of the dignitaries present can be seen clapping while Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is sitting with his hands clasped.
Social media users amplified the photo claiming that Kharge was being disrespectful to the late PM by not clapping. “….(this) proves they have no respect for Rao”, wrote one such user. (Archives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
The image is also viral on Facebook with the same claim.
Fact Check
Alt News found that the official YouTube channel of the President of India had live-streamed the ceremony. Around the 1:58-minute mark in the live stream, PV Narasimha Rao’s son PV Prabhakar Rao was called for the presentation of the award. The audience broke into applause and the Mallikarjun Kharge, sitting in the front row, was seen clapping along with everybody else.
After Rao received the honour on behalf of his father, he was also seen shaking hands with Kharge at 2:52.
Hence it is clear that the image was clicked at a point when Kharge was not clapping. However, video evidence disproves the claim that Kharge disrespected PV Narasimha Rao by not clapping when the former Prime Minister received the Bharat Ratna award, India’s highest civilian honour, posthumously. Kharge applauded when Rao’s name was announced and later shook hands with the latter’s son, who received the honour on his father’s behalf.
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