2021 photo of BJP and Congress leaders meeting speaker Om Birla shared as BJP’s secret meeting with Congress - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 25, 2023
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it is a picture exposing a secret meeting held recently between BJP and Congress leaders. The photo shows Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Sonia Gandhi sitting together in the same room for a meeting. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Recent photo showing a secret meeting between BJP and Congress leaders.
Fact: The photo shared in the post was taken in August 2021, when top leaders from different political parties went to meet Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla in his official chamber in Parliament. After the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on 11 August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and top leaders from other parties met Om Birla in his chamber. The photo is old and does not show a secret meeting between BJP and Congress. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found published by the “Times of India” on 11 August 2021. TOI reported that top leaders from different political parties were spotted sitting together at the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s office chamber on 11 August 2021.
After the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on 11 August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and top leaders from other parties met Om Birla in his chamber. Reporting the same, a few other news websites have published articles and videos. The photo shared in the post was taken during this meeting. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the photo shared in the post is old and does not show any secret meeting between BJP and Congress leaders.
To sum it up, a 2021 photo taken during BJP and Congress leaders meeting  speaker Om Birla was shared as the picture of the BJP’s secret meeting with Congress.