A photograph of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with union Home minister Amit Shah, is being shared on social media and WhatsApp.

ঘোর পরিবর্তন
দিদিও এখন জয় শ্রী রাম

Posted by ময়নাগুড়ি বিধানসভা এলাকার সকল বিজেপি কর্মী ও সমর্থক on Saturday, September 21, 2019

As can be seen in the picture of the above Facebook post, Banerjee and Shah are jointly holding what appears to be a white envelope with the words ‘Jai Shri Ram’ written on it. A majority of these posts are in Bengali, and they mock the Bengal CM over her supposed ‘hypocrisy’.

নটঙ্কি
যে মমতা ব্যানার্জি বিজেপি সমর্থকদের #জয়_শ্রীরাম স্লোগান শুনে তেড়ে যান, তিনিই হাসিমুখে জয়শ্রীরামের পোস্টার নিয়ে…

Posted by Moloy Burman on Saturday, September 21, 2019

Alt News received the same image on its official app, for verification.

FACT CHECK: PHOTOSHOPPED IMAGE

The photograph of Mamata Banerjee and Amit Shah together, is photoshopped. This was confirmed by a simple reverse image search on Google, which revealed the original photograph. The image pertains to a most recent meeting between the two leaders, on September 18. Mamata Banerjee had visited Amit Shah at his office in New Delhi, to discuss the controversial National Register for Citizens (NRC) exercise.

As can be seen in the above image posted in a News18 article, there does not seem to be any text on the envelope, unlike the words ‘Jai Shri Ram’ inscribed in the photoshopped image. The two pictures- photoshopped and original, are juxtaposed and posted below for comparison.

A video report of the meeting, broadcast by NDTV, is posted below.

It may be noted that Mamata Banerjee and Amit Shah are NOT holding an envelope with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ written on it. The original image, clicked at a recent meeting between the two leaders, has been tampered with.

 

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About the Author

Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming.