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A photo of an Indian Communist Party politician has been shared hundreds of times in Facebook and Twitter posts which claim it shows him campaigning in India's ongoing elections alongside an image of a Kashmiri separatist leader. The claim is false; the image has been doctored to include the Kashmiri separatist leader’s photo instead of a symbol for the Communist Party of India. The photo was shared here on Facebook on May 5, 2019. Below is a screenshot of the post: Snapshot of the misleading Facebook post The Hindi language caption alongside the photo in the misleading post translates to English as: Kanhaiya is doing roadshow and seeking votes with an image of Afzal Guru, who is convicted for terrorism by the Supreme Court. Why isn't the election commission is taking notice of this? Think what is his mentality? Who are the Hindus supporting his and what are they thinking? Are we so forsaken that we will vote for a terror-supporter? In what direction we are thinking? Think, understand and then take a right decision to vote in the interest of the country. Kanhaiya refers to Kanhaiya Kumar, a student leader and political activist. This is his official Facebook page, where he describes himself as the former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union. He is contesting the seat of Begusarai in the eastern Indian state of Bihar for the Communist Party of India in ongoing elections, according to this March 25, 2019 party statement. Afzal Guru refers to a Kashmiri separatist leader who was executed by the Indian Supreme Court after plotting an attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001. Here is an AFP report published on February 9, 2013, about his execution. The same photo was shared on Facebook here , here and here , and on Twitter here and here with a similar claim. But the claim is false; the image has been doctored to include the Kashmiri separatist leader’s photo instead of a symbol for the Communist Party of India. A reverse image search on Google found the photo was originally posted here on Kanhaiya Kumar’s official Facebook page on April 27, 2019: The photo was included in his Facebook post here . The Hindi language caption translates to English as: Glittering straws of lies disappears when people take to streets. Today this was the scene of Begusarai, tomorrow it will of the whole country. Look at how the public's skyrocketing excitement was in today's mobile torch rally. Kanhaiya Kumar also posted the same photo here in a post containing multiple images on his verified Instagram page: View this post on Instagram जनता जब सड़कों पर उमड़ती है तब चमकदार झूठों के तिनके बहकर कहाँ चले जाते हैं पता ही नहीं चलता। आज यह नज़ारा बेगूसराय का था, कल पूरे देश का होगा। देखिए, आज की मोबाइल टॉर्च रैली में जनता का उत्साह किस तरह आसमान छू रहा था। A post shared by Kanhaiya Kumar (@kanhaiyakumar) on Apr 26, 2019 at 12:17pm PDT In the original photos shared by Kanhaiya Kumar, the initials CPI refer to the Communist Party of India, while the ears of corn and a sickle represents one of the party’s logos. Here is a recent statement issued by the CPI chief and published on the party’s official website that shows the symbol. Below is a screenshot of the image: Screenshot of CPI statement with party symbol The original photos posted by Kumar show him campaigning in the Begusarai district of Bihar. Here is a video report by Hindi TV channel channel ABP news published on April 27, 2019, about the rally.
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