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WikiLeaks has not revealed photos of a secret Colombian wife of Rahul Gandhi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 29, 2024
A collage (here, here and here) of photos claiming to depict Rahul Gandhi with his “secret Colombian wife” has recently gone viral on social media. The post asserts that WikiLeaks has disclosed information regarding Gandhi’s concealed family based in London. We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: WikiLeaks has unveiled information about Rahul Gandhi’s secret marriage.
Fact: WikiLeaks has not revealed any such information. The viral collage features three different women, one of who was reported to be Rahul Gandhi’s girlfriend at one time, known as Veronique Cartelli. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
To examine the claim’s accuracy, we searched the internet to find any WikiLeaks data regarding Rahul Gandhi’s secret marriage. We found no supporting news reports about WikiLeaks revealing such information. Additionally, an advanced search on WikiLeaks’ social media channels and their official website did not yield any credible information supporting the claim that they revealed information about Rahul Gandhi and his marriage to a Colombian woman in London with their two children.
To gather more information about the women featured in the viral collage, we conducted a reverse image search of each photo in the collage. We discovered that they show three distinct women, one of whom was reported to be Rahul Gandhi’s Spanish girlfriend named Veronique Cartelli at one point.
First Photo
The woman in the first photo is an actress named Nathalia Ramos. She posted (archive link) this photograph on her social media handles (here, here and here) in September 2017, following a meeting with Rahul Gandhi.
Last night with the eloquent and insightful Rahul Gandhi….. pic.twitter.com/3w27FBb0Pa
Second and Third Photos:
News reports (here and here) suggest that the woman in these photographs was in a relationship with Rahul Gandhi. Years ago, rumours circulated (here and here) that she was a Colombian woman named Juvenitta/Juanita.
However, Rahul Gandhi later informed (here and here) Indian Express that the woman’s name was Veronique.
Third Photo:
The woman depicted in this photo is Gauri Khan, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s wife. The photo dates back to an IPL match in 2008 (here, here and here).
To sum up, the viral post claiming WikiLeaks disclosed information about Rahul Gandhi’s secret Colombian wife is baseless and misleading.


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WikiLeaks list of Black Money holders in Swiss bank is a fake one - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 6, 2019
Many Facebook users are sharing a post alleging that WikiLeaks has disclosed a list of 30 members who have stashed money in the Swiss bank. Let’s try to analyze the veracity of the claims made in the post.
WikiLeaks has published the 1st list of black money holders in Swiss banks.
Fact: WikiLeaks has never published the list of Indians who have stashed their money in Swiss banks. Hence, the claim stands FALSE.
The news that WikiLeaks has published the list of black money holders in Swiss bank is doing rounds from 2011. There are many versions of it:
When one searches in WikiLeaks.org regarding any such list of black money holders in Swiss banks, no relevant information was found. In 2011, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said that black money to Swiss banks mainly comes from India. But the organisation has never published any list of Indians who have stashed their black money in Swiss banks. WikiLeaks through their official Facebook and Twitter posts in 2011 clarified that the lists being circulated are fake and denied releasing any such list.
WARNING: WikiLeaks and Indian black money: The following is a FAKE  image and never appeared on WikiLeaks http://t.co/Dwbpc3P
To sum it up, WikiLeaks list of Indian black money holders in Swiss bank is a fake one.
Did you watch our Facebook live on Fake News (Misinformation)

source: news-factly

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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2016 elections impact on Rajya Sabha
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 20, 2016
The BJP has won Assam for the first time with a handsome margin while the Congress lost both Kerala & Assam. While this is bad news for Congress, it will not have a significant impact on the numbers in the Rajya Sabha. The NDA cannot expect to gain even a single seat in the Rajya Sabha from these five states, before the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The UPA will lose two seats and the Others will gain two seats from these states by 2019.
Though the BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha election with a clear majority, they have been finding it difficult to pass bills in the Upper House or the Rajya Sabha. Since the Rajya Sabha members are elected by the MLAs in states, Congress had better numbers in 2014 to start with. But with Congress facing successive defeats in various states, this scenario might change very soon. Will the result of the 5 state elections have any impact on the current composition?
The Rajya Sabha members are elected by the method of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (STV), very similar to how the members of legislative councils in states are elected. Each state has a fixed number of Rajya Sabha seats. Members keep retiring after their 6 year tenure and elections take place as and when there is a vacancy.
Current Composition of the Rajya Sabha
Out of the 241 members of the Rajya Sabha, 70 belong to the UPA, 66 to the NDA, 96 to others and 9 are nominated. The bulk of the others come from the regional parties like SP, BSP, AIADMK, AITC, BJD, JD(U), CPI(M) etc.
The election results from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal & Puducherry might not have a significant impact on this composition. Let’s look at state by state.
Kerala
Kerala sends 9 members to the Rajya Sabha. Out of the 9, three are due to retire in July 2018 while the rest of the six will retire after 2020. Currently, two of these are held by the UPA while one is held by others (LDF). Based on the current results, the UPA will be able to retain only 1 seat while others will win two seats.
Net change before 2019 Lok Sabha Election: UPA (-1), Others (+1)
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu sends 18 members to the Rajya Sabha. Only 4 of those seats will see a re-election before the 2019 Lok Sabha election. 3 of the 4 seats are currently held by the UPA while one is held by others (AIADMK). Based on current results, UPA will be able to retain only 2 out of the 4 seats while others (AIADMK) will win the rest of the two seats.
Net change before 2019 Lok Sabha Election: UPA (-1), Others (+1)
Puducherry
Puducherry sends only one member to the Rajya Sabha who is currently from AIADMK. His term ends in 2021. Hence there will be no change in the numbers before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Net change before 2019 Lok Sabha Election: UPA (0), Others (0)
West Bengal
West Bengal sends 16 members to the Rajya Sabha. There will be two different re-elections before the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The first one will be held for 5 seats in August 2017. Currently, only one of these seats is held by the UPA while the remaining 4 are held by Others (AITC & CPI(M)). Based on the current results, four of them will be won by AITC while the remaining seat can go to the Congress if the Left parties support it. The second re-election will take place for 5 more seats in April 2018. Four of these are now held by the AITC and the remaining is held by the CPI(M). Based on the current results, AITC can easily retain the four and the fifth one might go to the Congress or the Left depending on their agreement. In effect, there might not any change in the numbers at the national level.
Net change before 2019 Lok Sabha Election: UPA (0), Others (0)
Assam
Assam sends 7 members to the Rajya Sabha. The nearest re-election will happen in June 2019 by when the 2019 Lok Sabha election will be over. Though the BJP led NDA will win a few seats after 2019, they cannot hope to gain any seat before the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Net change before 2019 Lok Sabha Election: UPA (0), Others (0), NDA (0)
The NDA does not gain
While the Congress has lost both Kerala & Assam in these elections, it would not have a significant impact on the Rajya Sabha numbers from these five states. The NDA won’t be able to gain any seat since Assam will not see any re-election before May 2019. On the whole, the UPA will lose two seats and the others will gain 2 seats in Kerala & Tamil Nadu.


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This is what will happen if you hold more than 10 old notes after the grace period - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 31, 2016
The President of India has approved the promulgation of Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016. People holding more than 10 old notes will face a penalty of Rs 10000 or five times the amount in excess of the allowance.
The President of India has approved the promulgation of Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016. As per the ordinance, a person holding more than 10 old notes after the grace period will face a penalty of Rs 10000 or five times the amount in excess of the allowance. After the notified grace period, the liabilities of the Reserve Bank of India and the guarantee of the Central Government towards the old notes will stand extinguished.
Who all will still be allowed to deposit old notes?
The government has notified grace period till June 30th, 2017 to deposit the old notes with offices of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for citizens of India who are not resident in India. Only the following categories of people will be allowed to deposit old notes with the relevant RBI offices during the grace period.
It has not be noted that the above facility would be subject to the regulations of the notification “Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015. As per these regulations bringing back such currency into India is restricted to Rs. 25,000/– per person. Separate FEMA provisions are applicable to persons in Nepal and Bhutan which would continue to apply.
At the time of return to India, the number and denominations of the old notes will need to be declared to the Customs authorities at the airports and other entry points. Once the old notes are deposited with the relevant issue office of RBI, the RBI will make necessary verifications to ascertain if the reasons specified by the citizen are genuine. After that, the credit to an equivalent amount will be made to the KYC complaint bank account of the customer. Any person who is aggrieved by the RBI’s refusal to accept the old notes, can make a representation to the central board of the RBI within 14 days of the official communication of refusal.
Any false declaration by a citizen will invite a fine of Rs. 50,000 or five times the amount of the face value of the old notes deposited whichever is higher.
How many old notes can a person hold?
The ordinance allows holding certain number of old notes by different categories of people. It has to be noted that any person can hold the old notes up to the expiry of the grace period. After the expiry of the grace period, the following rules will apply.
Any person violating the above rules will invite a fine of Rs. 10,000 or five times the amount in excess of the allowance of the old notes whichever is higher. The rules will also apply to companies and organizations. The court of a Magistrate of the First Class or the court of a Metropolitan Magistrate can impose a fine for any violation of the provisions in the ordinance.

created: December 31, 2016


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Will making Sex Determination Compulsory help in curbing Female Foeticide? - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 24, 2016
Union Minister for Women & Child Development, Maneka Gandhi had recently suggested that sex determination of foetus be made compulsory to track all pregnant women with a girl child. She suggested this as a measure to check the menace of female foeticide. Given the dismal implementation of PC-PNDT act, it is difficult to believe that any new measure is going to work.
Union minister Maneka Gandhi recently suggested that sex determination test should be made compulsory to track women pregnant with a girl child as a measure to check female foeticide. In this context, we look at the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on female foeticide and cases registered under Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act to look at the effectiveness of policy measures implemented to curb the adverse sex ratio and whether making sex determination compulsory is likely to work.
The NCRB Data
Sections 315 and 316 of the Indian Penal Code categorize foeticide as a crime. The NCRB collects data on foeticide under the head of crimes against children. As per NCRB, there is no consistent trend in the number of reported cases of foeticide in the country. 111 such cases were reported in 2010, 132 in 2011, 210 in 2012, 221 in 2013 and 107 in 2014.
The NCRB started collecting data on female foeticide only from 2014.The Crime in India Report 2014, chapter titled Crime against Children reports that the crime rate under this head was negligible at an all India level. As compared to 221 cases in the year 2013, number of cases has declined by 51.6%.  For the year 2014, total numbers of victims were 107 in 107 cases. Out of 107 victims, 53 were male, 50 were female and sex of 4 foetus was not known.
According to Census 2011, 18 states showed a declining trend in child sex ratio. In 2014, highest number of female foeticide cases were reported in Madhya Pradesh (15), followed by Rajasthan (11). Seven (7) such cases were reported in Punjab. The three states with most adverse child sex ratios – Haryana, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir have reported 4, 7 and 0 cases respectively.
The implementation of PC-PNDT Act
The data regarding the implementation of Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act was released recently. Since the inception of the Act in 1994, only 50453 bodies (private and public bodies) having equipments capable of detecting sex of the foetus have been registered under this Act. So far a total of 1573 machines have been sealed and seized for violations of the law. A total of 2152 court cases have been filed under the Act and 306 convictions have been secured under this Act.  Licenses of 100 doctors have been suspended/ cancelled following conviction under this act.  That’s roughly an average seizure of 80 machines a year, 15 convictions a year and 5 suspensions of licenses a year.
Compulsory Sex Determination is the Minister’s Personal view
Responding to a question by Kanimozhi in Rajya Sabha, who asked whether the government is planning to make sex determination legal and how does it plan to track millions of pregnant women and children when it has failed to track 50,000 registered ultrasound machines in the country, Maneka Gandhi told the Rajya Sabha that it was her “personal view” and “not a policy statement”.
How do we plan measures with such little data?
Maneka Gandhi’s suggestion hints at shifting the responsibility to parents while the PC-PNDT Act places the onus on clinics. The child sex ratio is declining and there is no correlation between adverse child sex ratio and cases registered for female foeticide. The state of implementation of the existing law and reporting of cases remains dismal. Given this background, it is hard to believe that making sex determination compulsory is going to work. It is probably time to think about the effectiveness of our current measures to curb adverse child sex ratio rather than think of new measures.


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Will Regulating acid sales reduce Acid Attacks in India
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 27, 2015
According to the data available with the Government, a total of 291 cases of acid attacks were reported in the country from 2010 to 2013. A total of 344 Women were vicitms of these attacks. States like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh have reported the highest number of cases. The Union Home Ministry has issued an advisory in August 2013 with details of measures to be taken by States/UTs to prevent acid attacks.
Acid attacks are gruesome and most often, it is women who are victims of these attacks. It is not just the physical trauma, but the mental agony one goes through after such attacks that warrants a serious look at these crimes. The Supreme Court while hearing the “Laxmi Minor vs.Union of India (WP 129 of 200)” has directed the Government of India to come up with guidelines following which the Union Home Ministry issued detailed guidelines outlining the measures to be taken to prevent acid attacks on people and for treatment.
Acid Attacks – The Numbers
It was not until recently that the National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) started collecting the data on acid attacks and as such the only information available is from 2010 and going forward. There is clear indication from this data that most of the victims are the women. The number of acid attacks cases increased by close to 50% in 2011 and it remained more or less constant in 2012. Though it looks like the number of cases have come down in 2013, it is not a true reflection of the situation since data of more than 10 states that reported cases in the previous years is not available with the government. The victims are all Women with a total of 344 victims in these 4 years.
Most number of cases in 2010 was reported from Delhi, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka & Uttar Pradesh in that order.  In 2011, it was Uttar Pradesh followed by Delhi. In 2012, Uttar Pradesh topped the charts again followed by Bihar & Delhi. In 2013 Delhi topped the charts followed by Gujarat & Punjab out of those states for which the data is available. What is also evident from the data, that it’s not a north or south phenomenon. The gruesome acid attack incidents were reported both from the north and south India.
For the years 2010, 2011 & 2012, charge sheet was filed in about 85% of the cases.  For 2013, Charge sheet was filed only in 62% of the cases.
The Guidelines
Thanks to the efforts of an acid attack survivor, Laxmi, whose PIL with the Supreme Court paved way for “The Poisons Possession and Sale Rules, 2013″. While this may not necessarily eliminate the problem of the acid attacks, it does have a potential, if implemented strictly, to at least reduce the number of such acid attacks.
The Union Home Ministry sent an advisory in August 2013 on measures to be taken to prevent acid attack on people and free treatment and rehabilitation. The advisory also directed the States and Union Territories, where rules to regulate sale of acid and other corrosive substances are not operational, the concerned States/ Administrators of the Union Territories shall ensure the compliance of the following directions with immediate effect. Some of the important measures suggested are
The educational institutions, research laboratories, hospitals, Government Departments and the departments of Public Sector Undertakings, who are required to keep and store acid, shall follow the following guidelines:
Some of the acids that are banned or regulated include Acetic acid (beyond 25% concentration by weight), Sulphuric acid (beyond 5% concentration by weight),  Hydrochloric acid (HCI) (beyond 5% concentration by weight), Phosphoric acid etc.
Compensation
While there can be no compensation for the trauma suffered by the acid attack survivor ever, the rule does have a provision to be compensated so that it at least takes care of the after care and rehabilitation costs. The  Supreme Court has also directed that the acid attack victims shall be paid compensation of at least Rs. 3 lakh by the concerned State Government/Union Territory as the after care and rehabilitation cost.
Citizens can confront the SDM within their respective districts and hold them accountable for the implementation of these measures in letter & spirit.
Only time will tell if these measures would be successful in reducing the number of acid attacks.
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Unstarred Question No 3800, answered on 16 December, 2014 in the Lok Sabha.
Featured Image Source: Flickr | Narayan Nath/FCO/Department for International Development


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How to win The Bharat Ratna - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 2, 2015
(This story is based on original documents obtained using RTI (Right to Information) Act)
Here is a mind boggling story of an overwhelmingly concerned citizen who generously put forward his opinion on the prestigious ‘Bharat Ratna’ award while recommending himself  with appropriate reasons to do so. So hang on to awaken yourselves to one of a kind heroism.
For starters, ‘Bharat Ratna’ award is the highest civilian honour of the Republic of India, conferred in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order. The award was originally limited to achievements in the fields of arts, literature, science and public services, but the government has recently in 2011, expanded the criteria to include “any field of human endeavour”, “any field of human endeavour”. Did I write it twice? Yes, I did!! And yes, you too will get a glimpse of it very soon.
One Mr. Prabhakaran, an engineer by profession, from the state of Tamil Nadu; self-proclaimed son of God, son of Sun, messenger of God, wrote to various authorities to express why he believes he should be conferred the ‘Bharat Ratna’ Award.
Episode 1 – ‘Wake up Prez!’
Feb 10th 2013:- Letter to President of India – Shri. Pranab Mukherjee
Mr. Prabakaran took the stake of the entire country’s pride in his own hands. Wait! So why was India’s pride at stake? He wrote to the president recommending 11 names including his own for the award:
“’Bharat Ratna’ award have not been recommended for the past five years. It is a questionable one for the world, the other countries and also by the public of our nation. It is a prestigious matter of our Government of India. ‘Bharat Ratna’ award must be given to the following 11 immediately in my point of view”
Episode 2 – ‘Short-List’
Feb 28th 2013:- Letter to Ministry of Home affairs – Sunil Kumar Shinde
A few days later, Mr. Prabhakaran had generously pondered over the thought of being unfair on his part to recommend to the president, eleven individuals for the award. So he wrote back:
“I agree it is impossible to give the honourable award to all these eleven men, I want to mention 3 persons including me for the Honourable ‘Bharat Ratna’ “.
“As now, I am on Medical leave from 15.02.2013 to 16.03.2013 for 30 days, I am unable to contact and speak with you directly in this matter. I hope that this, my representation is considered in mind immediately and also accepted and forwarded…”
Apart from saving time for the top officials by cutting short the recommendation list, he also recommended himself as the strong contender for the award. Why did Mr. Prabhakaran recommend himself for the award? This is where it gets interesting, read the story further.
Episode 3 – ‘All is loose’
Mar 19th 2013:- Letter to AICC president – Sonia Gandhi
By now Mr. Prabakaran  has become restless over the award issue and this time, gives a new and a completely different perspective to the award. Inspired by movie dialogues, Prabakaran wrote his heart out to Sonia Gandhi. I think Sonia Gandhi might have had bouts of faintness after reading this.
“In my thought, opinion, God is a Loose; Dog is a loose; We, all men, all women are loose. [?, !, ? !]. (i.e), “Everybody knows something; Nobody knows everything.” Our Sarkar (government) donot announce the honourable award of our nation, ‘Bharat Ratna’ for about 5 years. I give my opinion about this loose thing, ‘Bharat Ratna’ award to our leaders. I want to say that the ‘Bharat Ratna’ award, a honourable award should be given to the following 6 men immediately to avoid wrong comments on the prestigious issue”.
Episode 4 – ‘Top three’
Apr 2nd 2013:- Letter to AICC president – Sonia Gandhi
Upon duly completing his medical leave, Mr. Prabhakaran with his rejuvenated mind put together his top 3 reasons for why he should be given the award. He writes back to Sonia Gandhi:
“I am eager to get the honourable “Bharat Ratna” award because of the following three reasons:
Episode 5 – ‘Mujhse Dosti Karogee’
Apr 9th 2013:- Letter to AICC president – Sonia Gandhi
An award wins accolades and a lot more. Hence, Mr. Prabakaran wrote back recommending 5 people for the award with his name in the second number, and this time gave an angle of fame as the reason why he should be given the award.
“Also, Now, I want to say that I want to have ‘Bharat Ratna’ award to win the friendship or making the friendship of my office Muslim staff. As I am an ‘Extraordinary Man’ XXXXX misunderstands me and hence if I am honoured, as I am an honourable person, XXXX would accept me as a good friend”
Episode 6 – ‘World Famous Story’
Jun 25th 2013:- Letter to President of India – Pranab Mukherjee
Since nothing else was working out, Mr. Prabakaran chose to showcase his talent in literature to win the award. In this letter to Pranab Mukherjee, our protaganist turned hobby writer brought to the notice of president of India, his contribution to the field of literature. He wrote:
“I request you to select & give me the best award, ‘Bharat Ratna’ for my world famous little story ‘Wonderful girls’ which describes the friendship between 3 girls, Hindu, christian and muslim girls those born in the same day, same date and year in a beautiful village in Tamil Nadu, and also for my theme of poems of new version. (i.e) I request you to give me the award for my work and ability in Tamil literature which this one, has been admired by all in my state and in other states”
Tired by the complete silence of the Government, Mr. Prabakaran stopped writing such letters. Looks like he is hurt by the indifference of the Government !!
PS: We tried hard to find Mr. Prabakaran and our efforts proved futile. If you find him, do let us know.
Checkout who else recommended Vajpayee for Bharat Ratna in this infographic.

created: February 2, 2015


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Woman featured in this video criticizing the BJP government is not former PM Vajpayee’s niece; she is Atiya Alvi, a social activist - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 16, 2024
A post accompanying a video of a woman criticizing the BJP government on a news channel is widely circulating across social media platforms (here, here, and here), claiming that the woman featured is the niece of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s niece criticizing the BJP government.
Fact: The woman featured in this video criticizing the BJP government is Atiya Alvi, a social activist. Atiya Alvi has confirmed that it is indeed her in the video and clarified that she is not former PM Vajpayee’s niece. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
After carefully observing the viral video, we noticed that the video mentioned its source as ‘HNP News’. Taking a cue from this, we conducted a relevant keyword search to learn more about it. This search led us to an extended version of the viral video uploaded on YouTube by ‘HNP News’ on 03 January 2020. The video identifies the woman in the footage as social worker Atiya Alvi. According to the video description, Atiya Alvi was speaking to HNP News at a protest held in Jantar Mantar, Delhi, against the CAA and NRC.
During this search, we also found that this video went viral in the year 2020 with the same claim (here, here, & here). Several fact-checking organizations have contacted Atiya Alvi regarding this viral video clip. In conversations with them, she confirmed that it was indeed her in the video and clarified that she’s not Vajpayee’s niece (here and here).
Among Vajpayee’s relatives, notable individuals associated with politics include his niece, Karuna Shukla, who was a former MP from Chhattisgarh, and his nephew, Anoop Mishra, who is a former BJP MLA in the Madhya Pradesh assembly.
According to reports (here and here), Karuna Shukla ended her 32-year-long association with the BJP and joined the Congress in 2014. Karuna Shukla died in 2021 due to COVID-19.
To sum up, the woman featured in this video criticizing the BJP government is not former PM Vajpayee’s niece; she is Atiya Alvi, a social activist.


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Woman in this video is not Messi’s mother; She is the team cook Antonia Farías - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 22, 2022
Following Argentina’s victory in final match of FIFA World Cup 2022, a video of captain Lionel Messi hugging a woman is being widely shared claiming that she is his mother. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Messi hugging his mother after winning the final match of FIFA World Cup 2022.
Fact: The woman in the viral video is not Messi’s mother Celia. She is Argentina National Football team cook Antonia Farías. However, after the victory, Messi also embraced his mother Celia who is wearing purple coloured Jersey. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
First, we compared the visuals of the woman in the viral video with images of Messi’s mother Celia María Cuccittini and found that the woman in the video is not his mother Celia. We then searched the internet with relevant keywords and found reports on Argentinian media websites Los Andes and Clarin. They identified the woman as Antonia Farías, the cook for Argentina National Football team.
We then compared the visuals of Antonia Farías in viral video with that of her other social media images and confirmed that the woman in the viral video is team cook Antonia Farías. As per the media reports, she has been working with the team for 10 years and accompanies the team everywhere.
She also shared images of herself celebrating with Argentina team during 2021 Copa America victory.
Moreover, images from Reuters and Getty images show Messi’s mother Celia wearing a purple coloured Jersey during the match & at the celebrations. Her left forearm doesn’t have any tattoo.
To sum it up, though Messi embraced her mother Celia after the victory, the woman in the viral video is not his mother. She is Argentina team cook Antonia Farías.

created: December 22, 2022


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Woman Walking in Shallow Waters of Narmada River Mistaken for Goddess - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 11, 2023
A video circulating on social media features an elderly woman walking on a river, with an accompanying claim suggesting she is the Goddess Narmada Mata. It asserts that she is walking on the Narmada River without drowning or her clothes getting wet. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Goddess Narmada walking on river without getting drowned.
Fact: The elderly woman seen in the video is identified as Jyoti Raghuvanshi. She is a resident of Narmadapuram, MP. During her pilgrimage, she walked through the shallow waters of the Narmada River in Jabalpur and was mistakenly believed to be a goddess. She left home 10 months ago. The police contacted her family to reunite them. Therefore, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
We conducted an internet search using relevant keywords and found ground reports by the Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar. The incident occurred in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, on 8 April 2023, when a viral video of a woman walking on water attracted a crowd. People gathered to seek blessings, believing her to be ‘Goddess Narmada.’ The police had to intervene to control the crowd. In an interview, when asked about walking on water, she explained that she walks through the river where the water is shallow, below knee level, and her clothes dry as she comes out of the water to pray. She emphasized that there is no miracle involved.
The woman in the viral video, identified as Jyoti Raghuvanshi, informed the police that she was a resident of Narmada Puram, MP, and had left home 10 months ago without telling anyone to perform a parikrama of the Narmada River. The police contacted her family to reunite them. The family had filed a missing report when she left home and stated that she was mentally unwell.
To sum it up, the video depicts a woman walking through the shallow waters of the Narmada River as part of a pilgrimage in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, who was mistakenly believed to be a goddess.


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Women in parliament - Where does India stand?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 6, 2016
While the global average for Women in Parliament stands at 22.4%, India is at the 103rd place out of 140 countries with a mere 12% representation. Within Asia, India is at the 13th position out of 18 countries. Countries like South Sudan, Saudi Arabia have better Women representation in Parliament than India.
Women’s representation in elected bodies, Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies is a source of huge disappointment. As we observed in a previous article, women occupy just 66 seats in the 543 member Lok Sabha, which is a mere 12%. The scenario for women Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) across all state assemblies in India is even worse, with the national average being a pitiable 9%. The best among them, Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana have 14% representation while the worst states are Pondicherry and Nagaland, which have no women MLAs at all.
This being the dismal scenario, we were curious to see how India held up against the rest of the world in women’s representation. We looked at data on women in national parliaments (directly elected lower Houses) across the world from the Inter Parliamentary Union, an international organization of Parliaments, to situate India’s position on this yardstick. The findings, while busting popular myths about many countries, also show us the mirror on how far we lag behind in giving women the level playing field to be part of the political decision making process and why we need to do more to improve the situation.
The 40 percent Group
It is encouraging to find some countries with a fantastic number of women MPs making up their Parliament. 13 countries in the world constitute, what can be aptly called the ‘40 percent group’ i.e women constitute 40% or more of the total seats in the National Parliament. Topping this group is Rwanda, where women MPs make up for 63.8% of the Parliament, outnumbering the men. Bolivia at 53% and Andorra at 50% achieve gender parity with equal number of men and women MPs. Another interesting aspect to note is that an overwhelming number of the countries that constitute this group are from Africa, followed by Europe and South America.
The global average for women in parliaments stood at 22.4%. While Europe surpasses the global average at 25.2%, Sub-saharan Africa has an average representation of 22.6%, Asia at 19% and the Arab states at 18%. The Nordic countries alone have 41.5% average of women MPs. 42 countries in the world have 30% or more women MPs in their Parliament.
Women’s representation in 190 countries can be explored in the interactive below by hovering the mouse. Countries with higher representation are colored green and countries with lower representation are colored red. Values range from 63.8% (Rwanda) to 0% (five countries including Qatar and Tonga).
India’s position in the world
So where does India figure in the world rankings? Way down at 103 among the 141 ranks listed for 190 countries that we have data for. That is hardly a position to be proud of!
But wait! The shocker comes in the form of surprise countries that figure way up in the rankings table. Algeria at 27 (31.6%), Iraq and South Sudan at 44 (26.5%) each, Saudi Arabia at 69 (19.9%) are some of the countries that beat India with considerable margin, where women MPs are concerned. Even Libya at 44 with 16% women stands way above India. The other surprising aspect is that the U.S. ranks a tad below Saudi Arabia with only 19.3% in its House of Representatives. These figures and rankings are surprising because these countries are either strife-driven, emerging from conflict or have severe restrictions posed on women in their societies. Yet, they fare much better in the spaces that women occupy in political decision making.
Even among the Asian countries [none of which figure in the top 20], India’s position is nothing to write home about. Out of the 18 countries that we have data for, India’s position is a dismal 13, with countries like the Philippines (27.2%), Vietnam (24.3%) and Cambodia (20.3%) doing much better. Japan is a surprise laggard with only 9.5% of women MPs in its Diet.
Closer Home: South Asia
Disappointed by the grimness, we decided to zoom in further and look closer home in the South Asia region. Surely, India stands tall here, given it’s leadership and usually better record of democracy in the SAARC region? Turns out, no. Just one glance at the graph below tells us how far down we are in where women parliamentarians are concerned. Of the 8 SAARC countries, India’s position is a ignominious 5. Nepal with 29.5% women leads the SAARC group, followed by Afghanistan with 27.7% MPs. Pakistan and Bangladesh at 20% each, ensure much better representation for women in their parliament. There is some catching up to do for India within the region to ensure gender equity in the highest elected body of the country.
Republic of Korea is represented as Korea.
BRICS: the emerging power pack
When SAARC offered no solace, we decided to look at the BRICS countries and India’s position therein. BRICS, the emerging power pack of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. India, here, stands 4 among these countries, with only Brazil with a mere 9% women, that fares worse than us. South Africa, which is among the top ten countries in the world in terms of the number of women MPs could perhaps offer some valuable lessons to the rest in the group.
Why do some countries fare better than others?
As these surprising findings on women MPs unfold before us, we are led to question as to why some of these countries have much higher women MPs than the others? What are they doing right? What spaces are they creating and what special incentives are being offered to create the level playing field for women to not just participate in politics but also to see themselves through the threshold of political decision making bodies. One of the most important provisions that almost all the countries with better women’s representation have ensured is to create constitutionally mandated quotas or reservation for women. Rwanda has 30% reservation for women as do most of the countries in the top 20. Closer home Nepal has 29% legislated quota for women, Afghanistan has 28%, Pakistan and Bangladesh have 20% seats reserved for women. Some European countries have voluntary political party quotas that encourage and ensure women’s participation in the political process.
Rwanda is a fantastic case study of how to do things right to get more women to the parliament. While it has 30% reservation for women at the Parliament, there is active participation of women at all levels right down to the grassroots. There is also special encouragement from the political leadership, starting from president Paul Kagame that has translated into women breaching the 30% quota limit and making up for almost 64% of the national Parliament. That is a heart-warming record for a country that is reconstructing itself post genocide. Indian lawmakers and political establishment could learn valuable lessons from Rwanda and take steps to correct the historical wrongs.
Data Sources:
Data on women in Parliament from Inter Parliamentary Union
Data on quota for women in Parliament from The Quota Project
Data on women in Indian Parliament from Lok Sabha. IPU (data compiled as of 1st January 2015) reported 65 MPs while Lok Sabha has reported number of women MPs to be 66.
For consistency, axis representing Women Representation % in all the plots are truncated to 80% to notice the trends better.
About the Authors
Bhanupriya Rao is a open data and RTI campaigner who has been working in the area of transparency, accountability and governance. She is the also the founder of ‘Gender in Politics’
Bhanu Kishore Kamapantula is interested in open data and data science among other things.


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Women in the Police Force – Numbers & Beyond - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 19, 2015
Representation of Women in various fields has been a widely discussed issue off late. It goes without saying that Women are grossly underrepresented in several fields in India: whether in politics, senior corporate leadership or even the bureaucracy. A new report by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) paints an equally dismal picture of the Women in the Police Force. Women make up only 6.11% of the total police force in the country.
Women are grossly underrepresented in several fields in India: whether in politics, senior corporate leadership or even the bureaucracy. A new report launched by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) shines a light on the abysmally low numbers of women in the police force in India. The report while talking of the gender inequality in the police force in India also shines the spotlight on the structural causes, policy lacunae and attitudinal issues within the society in general and the police force in particular that are responsible for the skewed gender ratios in the police ranks.
Women in Police: The numbers
In India, the first woman police officer was appointed in Kerala, in the Travancore Royal police in 1933. The first woman IPS officer was appointed in 1972.
Of the 1,722,786 Police Officers in country today, only 105,325 are women across all ranks. This amounts, on an average to a mere 6.11% of the total police force in India, as of 1st January 2014( as per the date with Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ministry of Home Affairs). The numbers and proportion of women police officers vary significantly between the states, with Chandigarh having the highest (14.6%), followed by Tamil Nadu (12.4%) and Andaman & Nicobar (11.2%). Lowest among the states are Meghalaya (2.8%), Nagaland (1%) and Assam (0.9%).
The numbers have grown, albeit marginally, in the last 5 years, yet they are woefully short of the 33% threshold recommended repeatedly by the Ministry of Home Affairs. In 2008, women made up 3.9% of the total police officers, which has grown to 6.11% in 2014.
Within the South Asia region (the report covers Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Maldives), Maldives ranks higher than India, with women comprising 7.4% of the police force. Bangladesh (4.6%) and Pakistan (0.9%) fare poorer within the countries researched in the report.
A UN Women report of 2011 estimates that, “globally, women average just 9 percent of the police, with rates falling as low as 2 percent in some parts of the world. On average, women do not make up more than 13 percent of the police force in any region”. In most developed countries, women make up up to 25% of the total force, with Scandinavian countries having around 30%.
Trends from the States: Some gains made
Numbers from the states points towards some gains made by them. Here are some of them as observed by CHRI.
Structural causes affecting Women’s Representation the Police Force
The CHRI reports details out several structural challenges to women joining and rising up the ranks in the police force from its sustained research in the area. The reasons range from inherent societal attitudes to women in general vis-a-vis the notion of police force being an utterly male domain to policy level hurdles such as recruitment process, promotion and retention to even the lack of most basic facilities such as toilets, housing, maternity and child care policies and facilities.
Recruitment Process: Gender disadvantage, the report notes, starts from the recruitment process itself. Police recruitment takes place at the Central (IPS for Assistant Superintendent of police onwards) and State Levels (for the posts of Constable, Sub-Inspector/Assistant Sub-Inspector, and Deputy Superintendent of Police). At the Constable rank, it is through direct recruitment whereas for the other ranks, it is through a combination of direct recruitment and promotion.
Many state police forces continue to have separate cadres for men and women at state-level entry points, which means that very few vacancies for a particular rank are reserved for women, which affects their career growth upwards, as greater number of seniority and promotion lists are apportioned to male officers.
A common cadre for recruitment is an urgent policy change that is being suggested by those working for a more gender equal police reforms. A novel approach by the Meghalaya Police saw a Transparent Recruitment Process in 2012 based on computerized tests in a completely gender neutral manner, which saw large number of women apply. In the latest recruitment drive, half of those in the Sub-inspector rank were women.
Andhra Pradesh has done away with separate cadres for men and women. The state prescribed same qualifications (except physical measurement) and common promotion cum seniority panels in a gender neutral way.
In contrast, in Kerala, until as recently as 2014, direct recruitment at the Sub-Inspector’s rank was not open to women candidates.
Low numbers is also due to lack of women coming forward to join the forces for several reasons. A parliamentary committee recommended that the allocation of central funds for modernization of police force should be linked to recruitment drives to increase the representation of women, which the Ministry of Home Affairs has shown little enthusiasm for.
Male attitudes within Policing: The culture within the police services is inherently patriarchal leading to negative stereotyping of women police officers and entrenched gender bias. This forces women to work extra hard to dispel those notions. A recent study conducted in Tamil Nadu corroborated this notion that women are perceived negatively by male police officers and a wider notion that police work is performed more efficiently by men.
Workplace Harassment: Negative attitudes are severely compounded by prevailing culture of sexual harassment at the workplace, though a large part of it goes under reported for lack of complaint mechanisms or insufficient knowledge of the women personnel. In focus group interviews conducted by CHRI, 7.5% of respondents in Kerala and Haryana, talked about sexual harassment they faced.
Inadequate Facilities: One of the gravest limiting factors and a gross human rights violation is the lack of even basic facilities like toilets for women in the police stations. This problem is even worse for Women Traffic Police. Worse is the discrimination of basic facilities for the IPS and state cadre officers. The new police headquarters building in Rajasthan has women’s toilets only for the use of IPS cadre officers. Under the Modernization of State Police Force Scheme, the Government of India issued guidelines in February 2013, asking state governments to provide for toilets, crèches, and restrooms for women police personnel.
Similar discrimination between cadres is also seen in maternity policies. While IPS officers are entitled to 180 days maternity leave and up to 2 years of childcare leave, state cadres get leave ranging from 135-180 days across states. Recently Haryana and Bihar introduced two year child care leave ( Rajasthan and Jharkhand do not), but in practice it is very difficult to avail.
Child care facilities are practically non-existent for women in police forces. The Parliamentary Committee observed that “for the fiscal year 2012-13, funds to the tune of Rs. 1.22 crore were released for this purpose, whereas, utilization was to the tune of Rs. 59 lakh only
Working Hours: Working hours are also non-conducive for women police officers. A recent study sponsored by the BPRD reveals that “90 % of police station staff, across states and across police station types, presently works for more than eight hours a day”. Women were often found to be working more than 12 hours a day and often in postings outside their home towns which made their dual roles within home and work very difficult. This was particularly acute in posts that handled women’s help desks and also all women’s police stations.
Women’s Policing Roles: While police manuals lay down little difference between policing roles for men and women, in practice it plays out very differently, with some states like Jharkhand laying separate rules for them. Jharkhand rules lay down that ‘Women police are only to perform specified tasks which include escorting female prisoners, duties in relation to cases of violence against women and children, helping men police in any investigation involving interrogation or execution of warrant or in any matter concerning women generally, watch duty of female suspects and any miscellaneous duty according to ability.’ This kind of segregation of duties along with prevailing negative stereotypes of women in police severely hamper their career growth and self-image as well. Relegating women to more desk duties and keeping them away from what are traditionally male policing duties that require muscle power and investigation, only reinforces the negative stereotypes. A senior woman IPS officer in one of the states pointed out a common practice of male investigating officers getting women constables to write their case diaries because women generally are seen to have “better and neater handwriting”.
Overall, it was found that at the IPS level, there are very few women officers heading a district and at the subordinate level, there are very few women Station House Officers (in charge of a police station) in regular police stations. Woman SHOs are based mostly in All-Women Police Stations. None of the 475 police stations in Kerala had a single woman Station House Officer ( SHO) in-charge.
Promotion and Retention: While largely the police departments’ promotions systems are mired in internal problems, the prevalence of the separate cadre system for men and women at the subordinate ranks stunts their career growth. As only a select number of posts at the Head Constable, Sub-Inspector and Inspector ranks are assigned to women police, there are fewer opportunities for promotion. A male constable can typically rise up to the rank of Sub-Inspector, very few women constables get promoted. As a result, women are concentrated only in the constable and head constable positions. Out of a total 396 DGP/Spl/DG/ADGP posts, a mere 16 are women; only 20 out of 607 DIGs; and 1,234 out of 31,754 Inspectors.
Policy Reform Measures so far:
This skewed gender ratio in the police force has not gone unnoticed. Representation of women was addressed for the first time in the 2006 Model Police Act which called for “adequate gender representation in the composition of the police service” and required “each police station to have a Women and Child Protection Desk staffed, as far as possible, by women police personnel, to record complaints of crimes against women and children and to deal with the tasks relating to administration of special legislations relating to women and children”. A Second Committee constituted in 2013, looks at the issue of diversity and gender equality in police forces. New laws relating to sexual crimes against children and women were passed in 2012 and 2013 respectively, giving exclusive functions to women police in the registration of complaints and recording of victim statements.
The Parliamentary Committee on the empowerment of Women has taken up the issue of women in policing in 2012 and 2013 and made several significant observations and recommendations.
The National Conference for women in police has repeatedly stressed the need for increased representation of women and recommended several measures including 33% reservation, special recruitment drives, a common cadre for men and women, and better facilities for women
The Ministry of Home Affairs has advised state governments repeatedly to recruit at at least 33% women to the police force. Many states have a reservation policy for women ranging from 15% (Uttarakhand) to 35% (Telangana). These states are: Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Bihar, Sikkim, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Telangana, and Uttarakhand. Even then, these targets have not been met and the states which had implemented reservations long ago only have about 12% women. Maharashtra has had a reservation policy (30%) in place since 1971, but women police are barely pushing 10% of the force. Tamil Nadu has attained 12% after 26 years; Rajasthan only 7% in the same period; and Odisha is not even at 10% after 23 years.
Clearly, much more needs to be done to bring down the structural barriers and make women an integral part of police force through more evolved policy measures and their effective implementation and monitoring, including police reforms. Gender equality is a constitutionally enshrined right and it is time that the right is fully realized.
Featured Image Source: By Biswarup Ganguly (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons


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Women in the Union Council of Ministers (1947 to 2020)
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 10, 2020
On the occasion of Women’s day, here is a look at representation of women in the Union Council of Ministers. From the 1 Lok Sabha to the current 17th Lok Sabha, women have been part of the council of ministers holding various portfolios.
In thisstory, a compilation of all women Ministers of Cabinet, Ministers of Stateswith Independent Charge, Deputy Ministers etc. is made including theirportfolio and the party they belong to. The compilation has been made usingvarious sources such as – archival records of initial composition
of council ministers since independence,archival records of change in portfolios since 1952, archival records of council of
ministers since 1990s, and a handbook on council of ministers 1947-2015.
Abbreviations used
Note:


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Women Ministers: Breaking the Glass Ceiling
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 7, 2018
The representation of women in the Union Council of Ministers currently stands at 12% with 6 Women of Cabinet rank.  Voting percentage of women in the Lok Sabha elections has increased by over 20% compared to 1962.
In September 2017, Nirmala Sitharaman was the first woman to be India’s Defence Minister in 35 years. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the first woman Defence Minister of India. She held the position twice, for the first time in1975 and then again in 1980. The current Cabinet Committee on Security has two woman members with Nirmala Sitharaman joining Sushma Swaraj, who holds the Ministry of External Affairs. The total number of women ministers in Union Cabinet is 6 while their number in the Union Council of Ministers is 9.
What about Portfolios?
Traditionally women in government and politics were given ‘soft power’ portfolios to create represntation and not necessarily participate in the decision making. The IPU-UN Women, supported by Global Affairs Canada, the department that leads Canada’s international development and humanitarian assistance, also calls attention to the fact that women continue to hold the lion’s share of so-called ‘soft issue’ portfolios in government. However, there is evidence of some change: for the second time since 2005, the Family/ Children/ Youth/ Elderly/ Disabled portfolio is not among the two most common women-headed Ministries. At 8.7 per cent, the Environment/ Natural Resources/ Energy portfolio is for the first time the most commonly held portfolio by women ministers, followed by Social Affairs at 8.2 per cent. Considering that trend, 3 of the 6 woman held portfolios in India are Food Processing Industries, Women and Child Development, Water Resources and River Development.
Data on women ministers reveals that 30% of environment ministers are women (47 out of 161), a 10% increase from 2015. IPU research indicates the ascent of the environmental category is likely due to the appearance of a few, very recent, new portfolios such as Climate Change and Sustainable Development, which are held by women to a considerable extent. Of particular note, there is a change in the number of women in charge of women’s affairs, with a 10 percent decrease to 64 women ministers out of a total of 77 ministries. This means that the number of men leading this ministry is on the rise.
Women in the Union Council of Ministers
The percentage of women in the Union Cabinet in India was the lowest in 1996 at 3% and the highest at 18% in 2015.
According to the Women and Men in India Report, the number of women contesting in elections has risen from 45 in 1957 to 668 in the 16th Lok Sabha elections held in 2014. Interestingly, the percentage of winning candidates has drastically declined from 60% to 9.3% in the same time period because of an increase in the number of contestants.
State wise data on Women MPs reveals that at Least 10 states have no Women MP’s.
Women voter turnout
In the 16th Lok Sabha election in 2014, the women voter turnout is on par with the male turnout with slight differences based on each state. Highest difference in male and female voter percentage is 5% in Madhya Pradesh. Some of the states recorded more women voter turnout compared to men.In 1962, the female voting percentage was 46.6% while the figure for male was 62%. In 2014, the female voting percentage was 65.6% and the male voting percentage was 67.1%. While the women voter turnout has increased by almost 20%, the corresponding increase in the male voting percentage is only 5.1%.
What is the way forward?
According to an  IPU-UN Women , a global average of only 22% women  in parliaments around the world indicates that it is male-dominated and women MP’s often lack equal representation in senior positions or on decision making bodies. In order to move away from traditional practices and pave way to more women, political commitment along with examining institutional and social barriers that deter equal representation and participation is necessary.
This is Part 3 of a special series on ‘Women in Decision Making roles’. Read
Part 1: Missing Gender Diversity in the Indian Judiciary
Part 2: Representation to Participation: Women in Panchayat Raj Institutions & State Assemblies
Featured Image: Women in Panchayat Raj Institutions & State Assemblies


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Women MPs in Lok Sabha: How have the numbers changed?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 5, 2019
The issue of women’s representation in elected bodies came to the forefront yet again when a Women’s collective in Bengaluru launched a campaign to press for the passing of the Women’s Reservation bill in the parliament.  Here is a look at the representation of Women in the Lok Sabha and how it has changed over the years.
The issue of women’s representation in elected bodies came to the forefront yet again when a Women’s collective in Bengaluru launched a campaign to press for the passing of the Women’s Reservation bill in the parliament. This, once again, brought forth the age-old debate of inadequacy of women in our elected bodies and whether there should be constitutional and legal safeguards for women in Parliament and state assemblies. The third- tier of elected bodies, the Panchayats, have already implemented 33% reservation for women. Apart from the fact that half the population is systemically excluded from political participation, representation and decision-making, what do the numbers tell us about women’s representation in Lok Sabha over the years?
Increase in Women MPs since the first Lok Sabha
The first Lok Sabha in 1951 had 22 women MPs. The current Lok Sabha has 66. In the span of 54 years and 16 Lok Sabha elections it amounts to a three- fold increase in the number of women MPs that made their way to the lower house of the parliament. From 5% in 1951, women MPs constitute 12.2% of the Lok Sabha today. The rise in numbers has been steady through the years, both in absolute numbers and percentages. The notable exceptions have been the dip in numbers during the 6th Lok Sabha in 1977, the 9th Lok Sabha in 1989 and most recently the 14th Lok Sabha in 2004. The trends show a marked and steady increase from 1991 onwards to the present Lok Sabha. The 1991 figures show a jump from 5% in the previous Lok Sabha to 7% and the steady increase from thereon (except for 2004). It would be interesting to understand the factors for this watershed year and continuous rise and also the fall in numbers during 2004.
The average representation of women MPs( 12.15%) is higher than the national average of women MLAs in state assemblies, which stands at a dismal 9%. While the numbers have increased over the years, the percentage of women that make up the Lok Sabha even today is not a figure to be proud of, especially when the ideal number should be at 33% at least. We still have a long way to go.
Women contestants in elections to the Lok Sabha
Central to the question of women’s representation in Lok Sabha is the appetite for women to take the political plunge and jump into the fray along with and against male candidates, getting tickets from their respective parties to contest elections and finally winning the seats that they contest. While popular perception might be that few women are willing to or have taken the political plunge, number of women contestants tells an interesting story. Between 1957(the earliest data available) and 2015, the total number of women contestants has increased from 45 to 668. That is a whopping 15 fold increase in the number of women contesting. If we looked at the data for male contestants for the same years, the number has increased from 1474 to 7583, a five- fold increase. The 15 fold increase in women contestants indicates towards the growing appetite for women to enter the political fray and willingness to be part of political decision-making.
Success rate of Women Vs Men
The other interesting story from the numbers over the years emerges from the relative success rate of women contestants as opposed to the male contestants. Consistently the success rate of women has been higher over the years than men. Success rate is the number of winners against the total contestants in that category. Women have had a greater success rate than Men in every single election. In some years, the difference has been quite stark. In 1971, the success rate for men was 18%, whereas it was 34% for women, which is twice that of men. For the current Lok Sabha, the success rate was 6.4% for men and 9.3% for women. This could mean one of the two things: Either women had a greater chance of winning from the seats that they stood from or that tickets were being given to women who had a greater chance of success. While numbers point towards a broad but important trend, it is fair not to be carried away by absolute conclusions, but to slice the data further and look at more granular data to establish causal relationships. While looking at women contestants currently, it would be fruitful to look at constituency level granularity of data to understand the profiles of women being given tickets within the context of entrenched patriarchal systems. What is the percentage of women who win come from political families and already nurtured constituencies as opposed to self-made women politicians?
The above argument notwithstanding, it is important to understand that the rising numbers of women is an encouraging sign to pave the way for greater political participation of women. With the rise of new parties that don’t rely on political patronage of families, party systems and more importantly money and muscle power, greater number of women entering the political fray can only mean encouraging signs for decision making for a section that constitutes half the population. Now, if that were to be topped with a constitutional mandate to reserve 33% seats for women, then we are headed for more gender equal times. Else, it would be a case of two steps forward and one step backward!
Source: Data compiled by Factly team from the statistical reports of the Election Commission of India.

created: January 5, 2019


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World Bank hails India’s Social Security Schemes - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 13, 2015
Social Security schemes like the MNREGA, Pensions are often criticized by economists as unproductive schemes. However, the World Bank in its recent report titled ‘The State of Social Safety Nets 2015’ hailed some of India’s social security schemes as biggest in the world.
Recently, the World Bank released a report “The State of Social Safety Nets 2015”, which mentioned that 1.9 billion in the world are beneficiaries of social safety net programs. However, 75% of the poorest people in low and lower-middle income countries still lack access to such programs and remain vulnerable. The report concluded that $329 billion was spent on these programs across 120 developing countries between 2010 and 2014, and most well-designed programs accounted only between 1.5 percent and 1.9 percent of their GDPs.
Given India’s huge population, its social safety programs featured among the top programs in their respective categories. Let us have a look.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), launched by the UPA government has been hailed as the world’s largest social safety net program. Last year, there were a lot of discussions and debates amidst fears that the BJP government would reduce its support to the program, which led to a group of economists signing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to continue support to the program.
India’s mid-day meal program, which is the biggest of its kind in the world, has been one of the significant contributors to increasing enrollment in public schools across the country.
The Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a safe motherhood intervention launched in 2005, under the National Rural Health Mission (NHM). It aims to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality by promoting institutional delivery among poor pregnant women.
The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) is an old age pension scheme that covers Indians who are 60 years and above and live below the poverty line. Ministry of Rural Development launched it in August 1995 as a part of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). Under the scheme, all beneficiaries aged 60-79 receive a monthly pension of Rs. 200. Those 80 years and above receive a monthly pension amount of Rs. 500.
Image Source:NREGA


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World Cities Summit, 2022 is not an exclusive event for Mayors - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 20, 2022
A twitter post is being shared widely on social media regarding Arvind Kejriwal’s upcoming visit to the World Cities Summit, 2022 to be held in Singapore. The post claims, “The summit is of Mayors, Kejriwal is a Chief Minister. If he thinks he is just a mayor he should announce publicly”. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Kejriwal is attacking Central  Govt for not giving him permission to attend summit in Singapore.
But the summit is of Mayors, Kejriwal is a Chief Minister. If he thinks he is just a Mayor he should announce publicly pic.twitter.com/tgZCKfMq5n
Claim: World Cities Summit, 2022 is exclusively for Mayors.
Fact: According to the official Website, Mayors, Ministers, Governors, business leaders etc. are attending this summit. In 2018, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu had also participated in this summit. While a majority of the attendees are city leaders & mayors, it is not an exclusive event for mayors. Hence the claim made in this post is MISLEADING.
The Official website for World Cities Summit displays a list attendees for the event which will be held between 31 July – 03 August 2022 in Singapore. Among them, we can see Mayors, Ministers, Governors etc., from different countries. Surat Mayor, Hemali Boghawala can also be seen in the list of attendees.
Also, regarding this year’s summit, the website says, “ The Summit is a convening point for global mayors, business leaders and knowledge experts to exchange and co-create city solutions for liveable and sustainable cities, and will engage cities, businesses and experts at the highest levels to discuss how cities can emerge stronger through prolonged and unpredictable disruptions.”
Further research revealed that former & the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu also attended the World Cities Summit, 2018 and discussed the Challenges of building a new Capital city at Amaravati.
Singapore Government invited Kejriwal to this Summit on 01 June 2022. However, this visit needs clearance from PMO. Kejriwal is discontent with Central Government over delay in nod for Singapore Visit.
I thank the Singapore Government for inviting me to the World Cities Summit. I look forward to attending the summit and discussing urban solutions with global leaders.
Singapore and Delhi can certainly work together towards achieving accelerated growth in public interest. https://t.co/OU1LvX8z57
Hence, while a majority of the attendees of the World Cities Summit is mayors & city leaders, the 2022 summit is not exclusively for Mayors.


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World Economic Forum (WEF) did not report about the Omicron variant in July 2021 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 29, 2021
A post along with the photo of an article is being widely shared on social media claiming that the World Economic Forum (WEF) knew about the Omicron variant in July 2021. The post even claims that the WEF knew about this B.1.1.529 variant whereas World Health Organisation (WHO) reported it on 24 November 2021. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: World Economic Forum reported about the Omicron variant in July 2021.
Fact: The World Economic Forum (WEF) did not report about the Omicron variant in July 2021. The WEF article that mentioned the B.1.1.529 or the Omicron variant was updated on 26 November 2021 to include the information about the new variant. The new SARS-CoV-2 variant, B.1.1.529 was first reported to WHO from South Africa on 24 November 2021. “The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 09 November 2021.” The B.1.1.529 variant was designated as a ‘variant of concern’ on 26 November 2021 by the WHO. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched on the internet for the World Economic Forum (WEF) article mentioned in the post, it was found that there was a mention of B.1.1.529 variant in the article. Though the article was originally published on 12 July 2021, it was updated on 26 November 2021. The article even has a link to a news report about the Omicron variant published on 25 November 2021, which wouldn’t have been possible if the article were not updated to include this link.
An archived version of the article from 12 July 2021 makes no mention of the Omicron variant or the B.1.1.529 variant. Even the archived version of the article from 22 September 2021 makes no mention of the Omicron variant. On comparing the three archived versions of the article (12 July, 22 September, 27 November), one can see that there was mention of a new COVID variant in South Africa, only in November.
The new SARS-CoV-2 variant, B.1.1.529 was first reported to WHO from South Africa on 24 November 2021. “The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 09 November 2021.” Based on the evidence that Omicron has several mutations, WHO designated the B.1.1.529 variant a ‘variant of concern’ on 26 November 2021. As of now, it is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible compared to other variants, including Delta.
To sum it up, World Economic Forum (WEF) did not report about the Omicron variant in July 2021.

created: November 29, 2021


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World Health Organization has not issued any protocol for lockdowns - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 6, 2020
A message is being shared widely on social media with a claim that, as per WHO’s ‘Protocol and Procedure of Lockdown Periods’, lockdown will be relaxed from April 15 – 19 and will be re-imposed from April 20 in India.  FACTLY has found that WHO has already clarified regarding the message. ‘WHO South-East Asia’ has tweeted saying that the message is baseless and fake.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact – https://twitter.com/WHOSEARO/status/1246804406705614848
https://twitter.com/PIBFactCheck/status/1246808682806923265https://twitter.com/hydcitypolice/status/1246990839974219776
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World Health Organization (WHO) has not advised people against eating bakery items amid the COVID-19 outbreak - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 9, 2020
An advisory purportedly issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) asking people to avoid eating bakery items amid the COVID19 outbreak is making rounds on social media. The advisory asks people to stop eating the bakery items as they are not washable and can get infected with virus easily. FACTLY has found the advisory to be ‘fake’. ‘WHO Sri Lanka’ has debunked the claim and clarified that WHO has not advised against eating bakery items. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has also debunked the claim and clarified the same.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact – https://www.facebook.com/WHOSriLanka/photos/a.2035735656687770/2604642586463738/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/pibfactcheck/photos/a.103726557827113/143344430531992/?type=3&theater
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World Health Organization (WHO) is not giving $ 210,000 to people who have COVID-19 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 23, 2021
Several users on social media have posted a message which claims that the World Health Organization (WHO) is giving $ 210,000 to people who have COVID-19. The message asks interested people to send their personal details to ‘angelaperkins091@gmail.com/+447721143955’. We have also received a similar message on our WhatsApp tipline (+91-92470 52470) to check the veracity of the message. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: World Health Organization (WHO) is giving $ 210,000 to people who have COVID-19. Send personal details to angelaperkins091@gmail.com/+447721143955.
Fact: No such message was found to be issued by the World Health Organization. Previously, the WHO has clarified that they never conduct lotteries or offer prizes, grants, certificates, or funding through email. Also, the same email address and phone number were previously shared with other spam messages. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched regarding the posted message on the internet, no such message was found to be issued by the World Health Organization. There are also no credible reports regarding WHO giving $ 210,000 to people who have COVID-19. In one of the articles on the WHO website, it is written – ‘Make sure the sender has an email address such as ‘person@who.int’. If there is anything other than ‘who.int’ after the ‘@’ symbol, this sender is not from WHO.’ It can be seen that the email address given in the posted message is – ‘angelaperkins091@gmail.com’. No link between the given email address and the WHO was found.
In another article, WHO has mentioned – ‘Many of these scams request detailed information and/or money from individuals, businesses or non-profit organizations with the promise that they will receive funds or other benefits in return……WHO suggests that recipients do not send money or personal information in response to invitations from anyone who claims to be awarding jobs, funds, grants, scholarships….’. Also, in April 2020, WHO has tweeted saying – ‘WHO will never conduct lotteries or offer prizes, grants, certificates or funding through email’.
The same email address and phone number were shared last year with a similar message but in the name of the UN. Also, the email address can be seen in another spam message posted in February 2020.
Don't entertain such SMS. They may be fraudsters. Request you to report the matter at Cyber police station, Shivajinagar, Pune for necessary action. contact no. 020-29710097.
The details regarding the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and the activities receiving money from the fund can be seen here.
To sum it up, the World Health Organization (WHO) is not giving $ 210,000 to people who have COVID-19. So, do not share your personal details.


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Wreckage of the crashed helicopter that was carrying CDS Gen Bipin Rawat shared as that of crashed Tara aircraft in Nepal - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 30, 2022
An image is being shared on social media claiming it is the wreckage of the crashed Tara aircraft in Nepal. The Tara Air’s 9 NAET twin-engine, which went missing on 29 May 2022, was found crashed at the Kowang village in Mustang district of Nepal. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo showing the wreckage of the crashed Tara Air’s 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft in Nepal.
Fact: The photo shared in the post shows the remains of the crashed IAF chopper that killed Indian Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat in December 2021. The crash took place near Coonor hill station in Tamil Nadu. The photo has nothing to do with the recent aircraft crash in Nepal. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the same photo was found in an ‘India Today’ article published on 09 December 2021. ‘India Today’ reported it as the wreckage of the crashed IAF Mi-17V chopper that killed India’s former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat and 11 others. Several other news websites have also published the same image with a similar description. They can be seen here and here.
The Tara Air’s 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft that went missing on 29 May 2022, was found crashed at the Kowang village in the Mustang district of Nepal. The wreckage of the crashed Tara aircraft can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the image shared in the post is old and not related to the recent aircraft crash in Nepal.
To sum it up, the wreckage of the crashed helicopter that was carrying CDS Gen Bipin Rawat is shared as that of crashed Tara aircraft in Nepal.


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Wrestler Vinesh Phogat is still in contention for the Paris Olympics - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 14, 2024
A social media post asserts that Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat lost the opportunity to represent India at the Olympics after she was defeated by the young wrestler Anju in the national trials. This article aims to fact-check the claim presented in the post.
Claim: Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat lost the opportunity to represent India at the Olympics after being defeated in the national trials.
Fact: Despite Vinesh Phogat’s loss to Anju in the 53kg category, she emerged victorious against Shivani with a score of 11-6 in the 50kg category. Therefore, her prospects for the Paris Olympics remain intact. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
While it’s true that Vinesh Phogat was defeated by the young wrestler Anju in the national trials, she hasn’t been eliminated from the Olympics contention. Despite her loss in the 53kg category, she emerged victorious in the 50kg category, which maintains her chances of competing in the Olympics.
As per news reports (here & here), Vinesh Phogat secured her place in the Paris Olympics qualifiers by defeating Shivani with a score of 11-6, in the 50kg category. She is now set to represent Team India in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers scheduled to take place in Kyrgyzstan next month. Additionally, according to reports, there was initial controversy surrounding Vinesh Phogat’s participation in both the 50kg and 53kg categories. However, after several rounds of deliberation, she was granted permission to compete in both. As previously mentioned, she faced a 0-10 defeat against Anju in the 53kg category, while she defeated Shivani Pawar 11-6 in the 50kg weight category.
Amidst the controversy surrounding her participation in multiple weight categories and undergoing a doping test, Vinesh Phogat addressed the issue on Twitter, clarifying that she felt compelled to secure her path to the Olympic Games by competing in both categories, as per the ad-hoc committee and WFI. This suggests that her victory in the 50kg category ensures her inclusion in the Olympic race.
🙏 pic.twitter.com/M96K0Tqcfd
Moreover, in her post-match interview, she can be heard expressing her joy at her victory in the qualifiers. Thus, all these factors indicate that her path to the Olympics is still ongoing.
To sum it up, wrestler Vinesh Phogat is still in contention for the Paris Olympics.


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‘www.narendrmodiawasyojna.in’ is a dubious website. No free masks or PMAY houses after registration - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 20, 2020
A Facebook post which claims that PM Narendra Modi is providing free masks to people under ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ to keep them protected from Coronavirus outbreak is being shared widely. Let’s check the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
PM Modi is providing free masks to people under ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ to keep them protected from Coronavirus outbreak.
Fact: The website in the post is a dubious one and there is no government scheme of PM Modi under which free masks are being provided to people. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has also clarified that there is no Central government scheme that provides free masks to people to keep them protected from Coronavirus outbreak. So, the claim is FALSE.
When the link (www.narendrmodiawasyojna.in/?m=1) in the post is opened, it is directed to a page. The website address (domain) of this website is different from the website domain of government sites which end in ‘gov.in’ or ‘nic.in’. Also, the name of PM ‘Narendra Modi’ is written as ‘Narendr Modi’.
When clicked on the ‘Order Now’ option, irrespective of filling up of details, it is directed to a blog and it shows the message ‘Blog has been removed’.
In the post, it was written that the masks are being provided under the ‘Swachh Bharath Mission’, but there is no mention of it on the website of ‘Swachh Bharath’.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has also debunked the message and clarified that there is no central government scheme that provides free masks to people to keep them protected from the Coronavirus outbreak.
#PIBFactcheck : केंद्र सरकार द्वारा ‘पीएम मास्क योजना’ जैसी कोई भी योजना नहीं चलाई जा रही है |#CoronavirusOutbreak पर अफवाहों से बचें | pic.twitter.com/MPlVW9ryD5
The same website address is also being shared (archived) on social media in the name of ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana’ (a housing scheme of Central Government). If the posted link address is observed carefully, it can be seen that it mentions ‘Awas Yojana’ i.e. housing scheme. But, as discussed above, it is a dubious website.
To conclude, there is no central government scheme that provides free masks to people to keep them protected from the Coronavirus outbreak.
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X-ray showing a live cockroach in a patient’s chest is a photoshopped one - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 24, 2019
On Facebook, many users are sharing a post with an X-ray image that shows a cockroach in a person’s chest. There is a description associated with the image that reads- “An x-ray image shows a live cockroach in a patient’s chest in Zimbabwe. A patient in Zimbabwe had serious chest pains, after taking an x-ray at Rusape General hospital the image showed that he had a live cockroach in his chest moving about. Doctors recommended that he goes abroad preferably India. So the patient had to sale his house and a few contributions from relatives.When he got to India another x-ray was taken and was told there was no cockroach in his chest but the cockroach was in the x-ray machine they used in Zimbabwe.” Let’s try to check the veracity of the claims made in the post.
In Zimbabwe, an X-ray image shows a live cockroach in a patient’s chest.
Fact: The image in the post is a photoshopped one. The source image is an X-ray of Marilyn Monroe’s chest taken by a doctor at Cedars Hospital of Lebanon in 1954. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the image in the post is run through Google Reverse Image Search technique, the original picture used in this fake image was found in an article from “BBC News”. According to the article, the X-ray was of Marilyn Monroe’s chest and it was sold at an auction. When looked for more information about Marilyn Monroe’s chest X-ray, an article of “The Hindu” regarding the same auction was found. From the article, it was found that this X-ray is one of the three X-rays of Monroe’s chest taken during her 1954 visit to Lebanon Hospital in Cedars.
Both the X-ray images exactly match including the shadows except for the cockroach. This story is found to be doing the rounds on social media since 2012 in different countries across the world. Same X-ray images are circulated as those of patient form Ghana and Nigeria. Snopes had earlier debunked these stories.
To summarize, the X-ray posted doesn’t show a live cockroach in a patient’s chest. It is a photoshopped one.
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Xi Jinping does not have an official account on Twitter. This tweet is fake. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 17, 2020
A photo of a tweet purportedly made by Xi Jinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China, on Ladakh and Article 370 is being shared on social media. But, Factly has found that Xi Jinping has no verified personal account on Twitter. Also, there is no account on Twitter with the mentioned username – ‘@realXiJinping20’. The alignment of the text in the tweet is also not right. So, the tweet is fake
Sources:
Claim –
1. Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
Twitter account in the post – https://twitter.com/realXiJinping20
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‘Yakumi plus tablet’ is neither FDA-Approved nor a medicine for gastrointestinal diseases - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 5, 2022
Video of an advertisement for ‘Yakumi Plus Effervescent tablets’ is being shared on social media claiming that it is an FDA approved drug effective in treating acid reflux and other gastrointestinal diseases. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: ‘Yakumi Plus Effervescent tablets’ are FDA approved and are effective in treating acid reflux and other gastrointestinal diseases.
Fact: The product description of Yakumi Plus Effervescent tablets says, ‘This product is not a medicine and does not have the effect of replacing medicine’. Also, Yakumi Plus tablet is not FDA approved. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
First, we searched the database of FDA-Approved drugs, but couldn’t find any medicine by the name ‘Yakumi plus Effervescent tablets’.
We then searched for the Yakumi Plus product online and found that a box of 48 tablets is being sold for a price of around ₹2700 (~790,000 Vietnamese Dong) on e- commerce website Lazada. As per the description, this product is manufactured in Vietnam and most importantly, the precaution says, “This product is not a medicine and does not have the effect of replacing medicine”. General treatments available for acid reflux (GERD) can be seen here.
To sum it up, ‘Yakumi plus tablet’ is neither FDA-Approved nor is a medicine for gastrointestinal diseases.

created: December 5, 2022


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Yasin Malik is alive. The rumours about his death are false - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 5, 2019
A post is being widely shared on social media that the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yasin Malik has died in Tihar jail. Let’s try to check whether there is no truth in the claim made in the post.
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yasin Malik died in Tihar jail .
Fact: Yasin Malik is alive. The DG of Tihar Prison has clarified that the rumours about Malik’s death are false. He also said that the health of Yasin Malik is fine. Hence the claim made in the post is .
When searched about the news of Yasin Malik’s death, it was found that DD News and other news channels have tweeted on this issue. The DD News has tweeted that while talking to PTI, the Tihar Prison DG Sandeep Goel has clarified that there is no truth in the rumours that Yasin Malik had died. He also said that the health of Yasin Malik is fine.
PTI: Condition of Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik is absolutely fine, says Tihar Prison DG Sandeep Goel, scotching rumours about his health pic.twitter.com/bb7fgkYLn7
Also, it can be found that Aditya Raj Kaul (Editor, Strategic Affairs & Internal Security at BTVI) has tweeted a video in which Tihar Jail Additional IG Raj Kumar issued a clarification on the issue.
#BREAKING: Additional IG Tihar Jail Raj Kumar issues clarification on rumours about terrorist turned separatist Yasin Malik. His health condition is absolutely normal. Rumours are absolutely baseless. pic.twitter.com/jkE0uQhp40
To sum it up, Yasin Malik is alive. The rumours about his death are false.
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created: August 5, 2019


text:
Communal Incidents in India
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 5, 2018


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Yemen’s Houthis did not seize an Indian ship filled with cows. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 29, 2023
A message doing the rounds on social media claims that recently, the Houthis of Yemen seized a cargo ship containing cows, mistaking it for an Israeli ship. Later, according to the viral post, they found that the ship belonged to India, after which they let it go. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: An Indian cargo ship filled with cows was seized by Houthis, mistaking it for an Israeli ship.
Fact: Media reported on 19 November 2023 that the Houthis of Yemen seized a cargo ship bound for India in the Red Sea, which was linked to an Israeli company. As claimed, there is no evidence that the ship contained cows from India, and also, it was headed to India and did not start from India, which contradicts the claim that cows were being shipped from India. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To check the veracity of these claims, we performed a keyword search on the internet, which led us to several news reports (here, here, and here) from November 2023. According to these reports, the Yemen rebel group Houthis seized a ship headed to India on 19 November 2023. ‘Houthi fighters descended on the ship from helicopters and took all 25 crew members hostage. The crew is being treated “in accordance with Islamic values”, the rebels have said.’ the Indian Express reported
None of the news reports made a mention of cows being transported on this ship. Contrary to the viral claim, the ship was reportedly headed to India. This evidence makes it clear that the viral claim is a concocted story around this incident, which has nothing to do with the transport of cows from India. In fact, the export of cows is prohibited (here, here, and here) in India, and only the export of buffalo meat is legal.
Furthermore, a reverse image search on the viral photo revealed that this is a cropped version of a cargo ship’s photo, which has been available on the Internet at least since 2013 (here, here, and here). Reportedly, this ship carried livestock to Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Post from Australia.
To sum up, Yemen’s Houthi rebels seized a cargo ship bound for India, not an Indian ship exporting cows.

created: December 29, 2023


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Yes, Indian Railways has provided special trains and extra coaches to various trains for AP Elections 2019 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 12, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook by some users claiming that special trains will be run from Hyderabad to facilitate the people going to Andhra Pradesh for elections. Let’s try to check the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
The archived version of the post can be found here.
Special Trains from Hyderabad for AP Elections 2019.
For AP Elections 2019, Special Trains and extra coaches to various trains have been provided by the Indian Railways to reduce the extra rush. Hence the claim made in the post is TRUE.
When one searches for the news on special trains for AP Elections 2019 on Google, it can be found that the South Central Railway has issued press releases regarding special trains on their website. Also, the Twitter account of the South Central Railway has tweeted about all the special trains and extra coaches to various trains listed in the Facebook post. Also, in an interview to TV9, CPRO of South Central Railways, Rakesh has commented that the special trains to tackle the election rush. So, it can be concluded that the claim made in the post is True.
Finally, Indian Railways has provided special trains and extra coaches to various trains for AP Elections 2019.


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Yogi Adityanath applying ashes of Holikadahan as tilak during 2022 Holi celebrations is shared with a false narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 29, 2022
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath applying the ashes of a dead soldier on his forehead. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Yogi Adityanath applying a soldier’s ashes as tilak on his forehead.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows Yogi Adityanath applying the ashes of Holikadahan as tilak during the 2022 Holi celebrations in Gorakhpur. The Gorakhnath temple has been following the tradition of beginning the Holi festival after Holikadahan and applying the remains of Holika’s ashes as tilak on the forehead.  Yogi Adityanath, who served as Goraksha Pithadhishwar in the Gorakhnath temple from 1996 to 2019, has been following this tradition for a long time. Yogi Adityanath in the video was not applying the ashes of a dead soldier on his forehead. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, the same video was found tweeted by the ‘Bhagwa Kranthi Sena’ national president Dr. Prachi Sadhvi on 22 March 2022. Prachi Sadhvi tweeted it as the visuals of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath following the age-old tradition of applying Holika’s ashes as tilak during the Holi celebrations. Reporting the same, a few local news channels have also published videos on their social media pages. They can be seen here and here.
हमारे सनातन की परंम्परा है होलिका की राख ठंढी होने के बाद उसे माथे पे लगाते हैं 🙏🚩 @myogiadityanath जी pic.twitter.com/G8gldCeTHl
After the BJP’s victory in the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, Yogi Adityanath celebrated the Holi festival along with people in Gorakhpur. The Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur has been following the tradition of beginning the Holi celebrations only after Holikadahan and applying the Holika’s ashes as tilak on the forehead.  Yogi Adityanath, who served as Goraksha Pithadhishwar in the Gorakhnath temple from 1996 to 2019, has been following this tradition for a long time.
A few visuals from Yogi Adityanath’s recent Holi celebrations in Gorakhpur can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the video shared in the post shows Yogi Adityanath applying Holika’s ashes on his forehead, not the ashes of a dead soldier.
To sum it up, in this video, Yogi Adityanath is seen applying Holika’s ashes as tilak, not the ashes of a dead soldier.


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Yogi Adityanath hasn’t threatened that he would set ablaze the whole nation if BJP loses elections - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 8, 2019
A few Facebook users are sharing a post alleging Yogi Adityanath has warned people saying he would burn the whole nation if BJP loses in the elections. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
Yogi Adityanath has threatened that he would set ablaze the whole nation if BJP loses elections
Fact:  The news channel screen grab with Yogi Adityanath’s warning about burning the nation if BJP loses in elections is a morphed one. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When one searches for the news channel seen in the photo posted, it was found to be a Gujarati news channel ‘Mantavya News’. On observing the photo carefully, we can find that the news regarding Yogi Adityanath is displayed in Hindi language, while the scrolling run in Gujarati language.
When one looks at the image carefully, we can find that there are no margins either on the top or on the left to Adityanath’s image, which are usually seen during the telecast of news channels.
Also, In the photo there is color difference in red which can be seen in its lower portion.
Hence, from the above things, we can conclude that the image of the news channel claiming Yogi adityanath threatened to set the whole nation ablaze if BJP loses elections is a morphed one.


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Yogi Adityanath was scolding BJP leader Vibhrat Chand Kaushik in this video, not UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 8, 2021
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as the visuals of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath humiliating UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya during a public meeting. This video shows Yogi Adityanath harshly scolding a person asking him to get away and sit back. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Yogi Adityanath humiliating Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya during a public meeting.
Fact: The person who was scolded by UP CM Yogi Adityanath in the video is Gorakhpur BJP leader Vibhrat Chand Kaushik, not the UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya. This incident took place on 28 November 2021, during the closing ceremony of the ‘Sansad Khel Spardha Mahakumbh’ event in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, similar visuals were found to be tweeted by a few users. They can be seen here and here. These Twitter users mentioned the person as BJP leader Vibhrat Chand. A journalist named Manish Pandey had also tweeted this video mentioning the person’s name as Vibhrat Chand Kaushik. When we searched for more sources using these keywords, it is found out that the ‘Aaj Tak’ news channel had published an article reporting the details of the person who was scolded by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. This article confirms that Yogi Adityanath scolded Vibhrat Chand Kaushik, a prominent BJP leader from the Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh.
According to the details reported in the ‘Aaj Tak’ article, on 28 November 2021, UP CM Yogi Adityanath attended the closing ceremony of the ‘Sansad Khel Spardha Mahakumbh’ event held in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. While Yogi Adityanath was sitting on the stage, BJP Leader Vibhrat Chand Kaushik approached Yogi Adityanath and began telling him something. Yogi Adityanath reportedly scolded Vibhrat Chand with a harsh gesture. A clear visual of this incident can be seen in the video published by the official YouTube channel of the Uttar Pradesh government.
Vibhrat Chand Kaushik is one of the well-known BJP leaders from the Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh. He worked as a Dean for the Buddha PG College in Kushinagar. Vibhrat Chand Kaushik had also shared multiple images related to the ‘Sansad Khel Spardha Mahakumbh’ closing ceremony held on 28 November 2021.
To sum it up, the person whom Yogi Adityanath was scolding in this video is BJP Leader Vibhrat Chand Kaushik, not the UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya.

created: December 8, 2021