Fact-Check: PM Modi did not insult former President Ram Nath Kovind – Alt News

On July 23, a farewell ceremony for President Ram Nath Kovind was held at Parliament’s Central Hall, a day before the last day of his tenure. Members of both the houses of the Parliament, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the ceremony.

Against the backdrop of this event, a video of PM Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind is circulating widely on social media. It has been claimed that as President Ram Nath Kovind was greeting the Prime Minister, the latter looked at the camera instead of acknowledging him. Various users claimed that the PM had insulted the President by ignoring him.

Aam Aadmi Party leader and MP Sanjay Singh tweeted the video, calling it an insult to the President. Addressing Ram Nath Kovind, he wrote “This is how these people are, now that your tenure is over, they will not even look at you.” (Archived link)

ऐसा अपमान Very Sorry Sir
ये लोग ऐसे ही हैं, आपका कार्यकाल ख़त्म अब आपकी तरफ़ देखेंगे भी नही। pic.twitter.com/xaGIOkuyDM

— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) July 24, 2022

National Forum, an organisation led by Yashwant Sinha also amplified the video on Twitter, writing, “How can you insult the President like this? It’s not good to be so arrogant, Mr Prime Minister. Today, you’re in power, and tomorrow it will be someone else.” (Archived link)

ऐसा अपमान राष्ट्रपति का ?? इतना घमंड प्रधानमंत्री जी ठीक नहीं हैं, ये सत्ता आते जाते रहती हैं आज आपके पास है कल किसी और के पास होगी। pic.twitter.com/tUPGOvy1FV

— NationalForum (@RashtraManch) July 24, 2022

RJD leader Rishi Kumar tweeted the clip, adding, “Is this not an insult to a Dalit President?” (Archived link)

सामने कोई भी हो , सम्मान कैमरे को ही मिलेगा । क्या ये दलित राष्ट्रपति का अपमान नही है ? ????@RJDforIndia @yadavtejashwi @laluprasadrjd pic.twitter.com/FHCSQ5790V

— Rishi Kumar (@rishi_mail) July 24, 2022

This video has been shared by several social media users. However, it is worth noting that while some users have pointed out Prime Minister Modi’s love for the camera, others have termed it an insult to the President.

Fact-check

Alt News noticed that the ‘Sansad TV’ logo is visible in the viral visuals. Using this as a clue, we examined the timeline of the Sansad TV channel on YouTube and found the full video from which the viral clip was taken.

Upon taking a closer look at this recording, we noticed:

• From the 0:58 to 1:01 mark of the video, it can be clearly seen that President Ram Nath Kovind greets Prime Minister Narendra Modi with folded hands. Following this, the Prime Minister returns the gesture with folded hands.
• After this, President Ram Nath Kovind walks forward with his hands still folded. It is worth noting that between the 1:03 and 1:08 mark, the President stops a little ahead of the Prime Minister to greet Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) MP Geetha Vishwanath Vanga and even exchanges a few words with her.
• Due to the angle of the camera (the camera is pointed towards the Prime Minister), it appears as though Ram Nath Kovind is standing in front of the Prime Minister with folded hands, and is talking to him, while the Prime Minister does not react. However, Ram Nath Kovind was actually standing ahead of the Prime Minister and was in the middle of greeting MP Geetha Vishwanath Vanga.

This can be seen clearly in the screengrab added below.

To sum it up, a video clip of former President Ram Nath Kovind’s farewell ceremony was shared with a misleading claim. PM Narendra Modi did not insult the former President. In fact, he acknowledged and returned the greeting with folded hands. In the clip being circulated as the PM ignoring the former President, the latter is actually greeting Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) MP Geeta Vishwanath Vanga, who was standing behind PM Modi.

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