Following the Air Force Aerial Display-2026 event in Varanasi on October 25, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chief guest, Union minister Piyush Goyal took to X to laud the crowd that gathered to witness the show.
“This is the picture of a changing India; this is the confidence of a new India,” he said in his post while claiming that 10 lakh people had gathered at the ghats of Varanasi.
ये बदलते भारत की तस्वीर है, ये नए भारत का आत्मविश्वास है 🇮🇳
प्रधानमंत्री @NarendraModi जी के वाराणसी आगमन से पूर्व काशी के घाटों पर उमड़ा जनसैलाब और गगन में भारतीय वायुसेना का अद्भुत शौर्य, हर दृश्य देश के सामर्थ्य, स्वाभिमान और राष्ट्रगौरव की गाथा बयां कर रहा है।
#KashiAirShow के दौरान 10 लाख से अधिक लोगों की ऐतिहासिक उपस्थिति ने बता दिया कि काशी के कण-कण में राष्ट्रभक्ति की धारा प्रवाहित होती है।
#IndianAirForce
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) October 25, 2026
The event was held to commemorate the 94th anniversary of the Indian Air Force under the theme “Wings over Ganges”.
Several X users commented under Goyal’s post, claiming that the photographs he posted were old. Several users claimed that the photo is an old image from Kumbh Mela. Several people even posted a screenshot from an AI prompt on Google Lens which stated that the image showed crowds from the Kumbh Mela, to refute Goyal’s claim. Some of these comments are shown in the gallery below:
Is The Image Really Old?
The event was reportedly attended by “lakhs of people from far-flung districts of Purvanchal who had gathered along the banks of the Ganga to watch the historic moment.” Alongside PM Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and governor Anandi Bhen were also present among other dignitaries.
News agency ANI posted several videos from the event showing massive crowds along the ghat, the size of the crowds match those represented in Goyal’s post.
#WATCH | Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnesses the Air Force Day Aerial Display-2026 at Namo Ghat in Varanasi. The programme will commemorate the 94th anniversary of the Indian Air Force and will be held under the theme “Wings over Ganges”.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath also present.
(Source: DD News)
— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2026
The picture posted by Goyal was also used by several other politicians, including Rajya Sabha MPs Satnam Singh Sandhu and Sujeet Kumar. They also posted images of the same crowd from different angles.
Further, we found a vlog on YouTube uploaded by someone who was passing along the ghat on a train prior to the roadshow. The visuals of the ghat posted by him match the images posted by the ministers.
Below is a comparison of a keyframe from the YouTube video with the image posted by Goyal. The size of the crowd, as well as the location, is the same as that shown in Goyal’s post.
Conclusively, the image posted by union minister Piyush Goyal showing a massive crowd is indeed from the Air Force Aerial Display 2026 held on October 25 in Varanasi, and not an old image.
