DigitEye India Fact Checkers
An image of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and their family members sitting together at a restaurant recently went viral on social media. The image was accompanied by claims suggesting that the Gandhi family was in Vietnam following the death of former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
See the Facebook post shared by Raghu Nomula, the state vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Andhra Pradesh Yuva Morcha, in Telugu as:”*మాజీ ప్రధాని మన్మోహన్ సింగ్ సంతాపదినాల్లో భాగంగా వియాత్నం దేశంలో తీవ్ర సంతాపం తెలియజేస్తున్న ఆంటోనియో కుటుంబం🤦*”
మాజీ ప్రధాని మన్మోహన్ సింగ్ సంతాపదినాల్లో భాగంగా వియాత్నం దేశంలో తీవ్ర సంతాపం తెలియజేస్తున్న ఆంటోనియో కుటుంబం🤦😔 @RahulGandhi@INCIndia pic.twitter.com/ADY7wzousA
— BheemBoy💕🇮🇳 Eat millets Stay Healthy🙏 (@PITCHBOSS) January 3, 2025
Translated, it reads: “Antonio’s family expressing deep condolences in Vietnam as part of the mourning days for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.”
Similar posts have been shared here and here.
The context being the recent demise of former PM Manmohan Singh, and the row over the site of his cremation in New Delhi. Congress criticized the BJP for what they perceived as disrespectful funeral arrangements, while the BJP questioned Rahul Gandhi’s absence during the ash immersion ceremony.
The claim is a repetition of similar claims with accusations that Rahul Gandhi had gone to Vietnam for the “New Year” shortly after Singh’s death.
FACT-CHECK:
Upon conducting a reverse image search, we found that the same image was posted by Rahul Gandhi on his official Instagram account on December 22, 2024. The caption read, “Family lunch at the iconic Kwality Restaurant. Try the Chole Bhature if you go (sic),” confirming that the photo was taken prior to Singh’s death later on December 26, 2024.
Family lunch at the iconic Kwality Restaurant. Try the Chole Bhature if you go. – Rahul Gandhi ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/xf1bf5hQyQ
— Delhi Pradesh Congress Sevadal (@SevadalDL) December 22, 2024
Further, PTI News published on December 22, 2024 the same image confirming that the Gandhi family had dined at Kwality Restaurant in Delhi’s Connaught Place on that date.
This report was corroborated by other media outlets as well. Hence, the restaurant is in New Delhi, not Vietnam as claimed.
Claim: Image shows the Gandhi family is dining in Vietnam after former PM Manmohan Singh’s death.
Conclusion: Misrepresentation — The viral image of the Gandhi family dining together was taken at Kwality Restaurant in New Delhi on December 22, 2024, and not in Vietnam following the death of Manmohan Singh four days later.
Rating: Misrepresentation — 
