The young BJP MP Tejasvi Surya representing Bengaluru South constituency was recently named president of the party's youth wing. But on this occasion, social media was abuzz with a picture of Surya posing with 'weapons' and accusing the 29-year-old politician of promoting violence.
Claim
Several users have shared a photo of Surya wherein he is sitting with tens of weed-cutting tools and painting numbers on them. The photo has gone viral on major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook right after his new role as BJP youth president.
Fact-check
Upon witnessing Surya's image go viral, IBTimes dug deeper into the context of the picture. Research showed that the image is not a recent one, in fact, it was taken in 2016 and tends to appear in the same misleading context almost every year since.
Surya had responded to a Twitter user on July 14, 2017, who had shared the viral photo on the social media platform and said the youth leader was posing "with his nation building items." Surya gave context to the photo, clarifying that it was clearly taken out of context.
Surya had said he was posing with weed cutting equipment at his coffee estate during Ayudha Pooja, a festival celebrated in the southern states when people worship weapons and tools. The original photo dates back to October 2016 during Navratri celebrations.
Hence, IBTimes arrives at the conclusion that the viral photo of Tajasvi Surya posing with 'weapons' is misleading and blown out of context.
