Congress President Kharge did clap for former Indian PM Narasimha Rao’s Bharat Ratna

By: Rahul Adhikari
April 3 2024

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Social media posts claim Congress President Kharge didn’t applaud when Narasimha Rao’s son received the Bharat Ratna for his father. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

Former Indian Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao was posthumously honored with the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, on March 30, when his son, PV Prabhakar Rao, received the award from President Droupadi Murmu.

Soon after, an image from the ceremony circulating on social media claimed that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge did not applaud when Prabhakar Rao received the award on behalf of his father. The viral image shows Prabhakar Rao receiving the award from Murmu, as dignitaries seated in the front row, including Indian PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, are seen clapping, whereas Kharge appears not to be applauding.

Several users shared the image on X (formerly Twitter), making the same claim. One user wrote, "Only one person in the front row is not clapping when PV Narasimha Rao was being conferred with Bharat Ratna posthumously. Not only is he not clapping, he is even keeping his hands in such a way so that it is visible and clear that he is not clapping (sic)." The post garnered over 89,000 views and 1,100 likes at the time of writing. Archived versions of such posts can be seen here and here.

Screenshots of the viral posts. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false. Video footage of the ceremony shows that Kharge applauded when Narasimha Rao's name was announced, and the latter's son walked up to President Murmu to receive the award.

How did we find the truth? 

A reverse image search on the viral photo revealed that it was also shared from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official X handle. The image captures a moment from the ceremony where Kharge is not visible clapping.

While Kharge may not be seen clapping in the viral image, footage from the event shows him applauding the honor being bestowed upon Rao.

We located the video of the ceremony where the award was conferred upon Rao posthumously, shared on the President of India's YouTube channel on March 31. In the 41-minute video, Kharge and other political leaders seated in the front row can be seen clapping when Rao's name is announced, and the latter's son begins walking up to receive the honor.

The Congress president can, in fact, be seen clapping even when others, including PM Modi and Shah, are not.

Screenshot showing Mallikarjun Kharge clapping during the award ceremony. (Source: YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts) 

A live-stream of the ceremony shared on PM Modi's official YouTube channel also shows Kharge getting up to shake hands with Prabhakar Rao around the 2:31 mark.

Screenshot from the livestream capturing Prabhakar Rao shaking hands with Kharge. (Source: YouTube/Screenshot)

The verdict

An image from the Bharat Ratna ceremony, at the time the award was being conferred upon PV Narasimha Rao posthumously, is being shared with the false claim that Congress President Kharge did not applaud. Other visuals from the ceremony show Kharge clapping when Rao's name was announced.