Old debunked photo of the IUML party flag revived again as the Pakistan National flag waived during a Congress rally - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 22, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the picture of a Congress rally in which the Pakistan Flag waived with ‘Hindustan Murdabad’ chants. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of the Pakistan Flag being waived during a Congress party rally.
Fact: The green flag in the photo shows the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) party flag, not the Pakistan National flag. IUML is an Indian Political Party based in Kerala. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On observing the photo carefully, it is found out that the flag waved in the rally is not the Pakistan National flag. The photo of the Pakistan National flag can be seen here. When we searched for the Indian political party flags similar to the flag waved in this rally, we found it as the party flag of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). IUML is a Kerala-based Indian political party recognized by the Election Commission of India. Further details about the IUML party can be seen here. The party also has an official handle on Facebook.
In a complaint filed to the Election Commission on ‘05 April 2019’, IUML informed that their party flag is being falsely portrayed as the Pakistan National Flag, to incite hatred against their party.
The photos and the videos related to this rally had gone viral during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections. They can be seen here and here. According to ‘The Hindu’ article, the Kerala-based IUML party supported the Congress Party during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka. Though we could not ascertain the exact details of this rally, it can be concluded that the flag waved during this rally is not the Pakistan National flag.
Earlier, when a video with similar visuals was shared with a similar claim, FACTLY published a fact-check article on it. It can be seen here.
To sum it up, an old debunked photo of the IUML party flag revived again as the Pakistan National flag waved during a Congress rally.