DigitEye India Fact Checkers
An image is being shared on social media showing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with a woman and children standing next to a helicopter. The claim says that the Congress leader was on tour with his wife, son and daughter, giving them Italian names.
“Raul Vinci on tour with his wife Jonita Vinci, son Noahak Vinci, and daughter Minak Vinci. This is the same Rahul Vinci who calls Hindus violent animals and the foolish people of India want him to become Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/dxRBG7izcl
— Subhash Saigal🇮🇳💓🇮🇳 (@SubhashSaigal) August 29, 2024
The claim reads: “Raul Vinci on tour with his wife Jonita Vinci, son Noahak Vinci, and daughter Minak Vinci. This is the same Rahul Vinci who calls Hindus violent animals and the foolish people of India want him to become Prime Minister.”
Similar claims have been made about Rahul Gandhi in the past and this one shows an image of the purported family of Rahul Gandhi.
FACT CHECK
When Digiteye India team performed a simple Google Reverse Image Search of the photo, the results showed that the image was taken during the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi on December 9, 2022 , when he was in Rajasthan. The image was taken when local Mahila Congress leader Priyanka Nandwana came to meet him along with her two children (Kamakshi Nandwana in pink t-shirt and the boy wearing a yellow shirt) and relative’s children.
News reports confirm that he took them on a ride as the children wished after taking the photo. The news can be accessed here on YouTube.
Mahila Congress Baran District President Priyanka Nandwana and her 14 year old daughter Kamakshi Nandwana
Priyanka Nandwana, seen in the video, confirmed that the older girl (14 year old Kamakshi Nandwana in pink t-shirt) and the boy wearing a yellow shirt were her children, while the other ones were her relatives. “They are not Rahul Gandhi’s [children]. This is being shared with a false claim,” she told news agency AFP.
Secondly, when Rahul Gandhi was a student at Cambridge University, he used “Raul Vinci” as a pseudonym for security reasons. However, he has been targeted by critics repeatedly over the use of an Italian-origin name. Since the country saw two of the three Prime Ministers from his family were assassinated, his security remains a major concern for the security agencies. Otherwise, as per official records, he is not married yet.
Hence, the claim that Rahul Gandhi is seen with his family in the picture is totally false.
Claim: Rahul Gandhi seen with his secret family in the image.
Conclusion: Totally False. The photo was taken when Rahul Gandhi met a local Mahila Congress leader and her children in Rajasthan during his Bharat Jodo Yatra on Dec. 9, 2022.
Rating: Totally False — 
