President Droupadi Murmu awarded former Deputy Prime Minister L.K.Advani with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, at his residence in Delhi on 31 March 2024. Subsequently, a photo from the event has been circulating, suggesting that President Murmu was disrespected as she is seen standing while Modi and Advani are seated beside her. In this article, we fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: No chair was provided for President Droupadi Murmu to sit during the presentation of the Bharat Ratna to L.K.Advani
Fact: President Murmu also occupied a chair alongside other dignitaries. She stood only during conferring the award on L.K.Advani. Both before and after that moment, she was seated on the chair, similar to the other dignitaries. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
President Murmu visited L.K.Advani’s residence to bestow upon him the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour. Typically, such ceremonies occur at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, due to L.K.Advani’s health situation, the President personally visited his residence for the occasion.
Contrary to the viral claim, the President also occupied a chair alongside other dignitaries. She stood only during the moment of conferring the award on Advani. Both before and after that moment, she was seated on the chair, similar to the other dignitaries.
Prime Minister Modi posted a video of the event on his YouTube channel, clearly showing President Droupadi Murmu seated after placing the medal around Advani’s neck.
Additionally, President Droupadi Murmu posted photos of the event on Twitter, which clearly show her seated in the chair.
To sum it up, President Murmu also occupied a chair alongside other dignitaries at the ceremony where L.K.Advani was conferred with the Bharat Ratna.
