Fact-Check: Viral claim of Mallikarjun Kharge not applauding at Bharat Ratna ceremony debunked

Guwahati: Fact-checking reveals that a viral claim suggesting Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge did not applaud during the 2024 Bharat Ratna ceremony for former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao's son is untrue.

Social media users circulated a photo from the event alongside this allegation, but a thorough investigation by news website The Quint disproves it.

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The original image, shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official account, was confirmed to be unaltered. Further scrutiny by Quint involved examining footage from the President of India's verified YouTube channel, where videos of the ceremony were uploaded the day after it occurred.

In one such video, PV Prabhakar Rao receives the Bharat Ratna on behalf of his late father, PV Narasimha Rao. At the seven-second mark, Mallikarjun Kharge is visibly seen applauding.

Additional evidence, including a screenshot capturing Kharge's clapping hands, solidifies the conclusion that the claim is false.

In summary, assertions suggesting Kharge did not applaud during the ceremony are debunked by factual evidence.

This story is republished from The Quint  as part of the Shakti Collective. Read the original story here.