A picture of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with an Army officer is going viral.
The posts claim that the lady officer in the pictures is the daughter of the defence minister.
“रक्षामंत्री निर्मला सीतारमण एयरफोर्स में तैनात अपनी बेटी के साथ…
पहली रक्षामंत्री या पहली केंद्रीय मंत्री या पहली राजनीतिज्ञ जिसकी संतान देश की रक्षा में तैनात है.. इसे कहते है देश सेवा का जज्बा.. ” the post reads.
रक्षामंत्री निर्मला सीतारमण एयरफोर्स में तैनात अपनी बेटी के साथ…
पहली रक्षामंत्री या पहली केंद्रीय मंत्री या पहली राजनीतिज्ञ जिसकी संतान देश की रक्षा में तैनात है.. इसे कहते है देश सेवा का जज्बा.. pic.twitter.com/6qlQnQUbLT— सीमा हिन्दुस्तानी 💯FB (@SeemaHINDU_IN) January 2, 2019
This picture was shared extensively on Twitter and Facebook. Some of the groups where this picture was shared houses more than 3 lakh members.
Fact Check
The official handle of the Principal Spokesperson of the Defense Ministry took it to Twitter to provide a clarification on this viral picture.
” “CLARIFICATION”. This is the photograph clicked at the request of the Army officer appointed as the LO to the RM during an official visit. She is NOT the daughter of the RM as suggested in some social media platforms, ” the tweet said.
“CLARIFICATION”. This is the photograph clicked at the request of the Army officer appointed as the LO to the RM during an official visit. She is NOT the daughter of the RM as suggested in some social media platforms pic.twitter.com/mkBQt2dLCK
— Defence Spokesperson (@SpokespersonMoD) January 2, 2019
This picture was originally posted by the official twitter account of the Defence Minister On November 7, 2018, when she was visiting soldiers and their families in Hyulong, Arunachal Pradesh during Diwali.
Smt @nsitharaman celebrates Diwali with soldiers, their families and locals at Hyulong, Arunachal Pradesh pic.twitter.com/hHdHidt9Pb
— Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) November 7, 2018
Moreover, when you searched ‘Nirmala Sitharaman daughter’ on google. The results show that her name is Parakala Vangmayi.
The girl in the picture has been identified as Nikita Veeraiah, reports Boomlive. Nikita Veeraiah’s facebook profile also shows that she works in Indian Army. However, Boomlive has confirmed the identity of the officer with Colonel Aman Anand, a spokesman for the Indian Army.
The above facts prove that the post that has been going viral is fake.
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