New Delhi: A photograph of Congress President Sonia Gandhi has gone viral, which purportedly shows a bookshelf behind her with a book titled ‘How to convert India into a Christian Nation’. The image also shows a copy of the Holy Bible and a statue of Jesus Christ on the shelf.
A Twitter user ‘No Conversion’, first shared the image with the caption ‘Who reads all these books?’ It was retweeted by over 1,000 people and garnered more than 2,900 likes. The tweet has since been deleted.
In another tweet, the user with more than 200,000 followers, accused the Congress of “rampant conversion appeasement, and brainwashing of young generation.”
Several other Twitter users also shared the image with similar claims. It was widely shared on Facebook too.
One Twitter user asked if “Sonia Gandhi’s hand” was “behind the conversion in India.”
Fact check
The viral photograph of Sonia Gandhi with the book on Christian conversion is fake and has been morphed.
The image is actually a screenshot of a YouTube video that was published by the Indian National Congress in October 2020, where Gandhi addressed the people of Bihar on matters related to the state’s economy and unemployment.
A look at the bookshelf behind her shows that the space where the book on conversion, Holy Bible and Jesus’ statue is situated in the viral photo is actually empty.
Viral photo of Sonia Gandhi with Christian conversion book in background is morphed
The publishers of this photo, with books in the background is an infantile attempt to raise ridiculous matters by those who would clutch at any possibility of creating some sensation or rumour. Even if the photo is true, what does it prove? I am a Catholic priest, and I have in my book shelf several books of atheists, and many good books of Hindu spiritual leaders. A book may be there for reading, information, or whatever. How foolish to try to prove that Sonia is for conversion, just because a book of that title is in her shelf! These “news” items show the lack of intelligence on the part of the publishers, and an attempt to insinuate intentions. What is the leader of the RSS or BJP has a Bible in his shelf? Does that mean that he is secretely a Christian? All this seems a trick to divert the attention of the people from the failures of the Government on the Covid front. A copy of the “Communist Manifesto” of Karl Marx in my bookshelf hardly proves that I am communist, trying to spread communism secretly! It is unfortunate that in India irrationality makes news.
Wow! Sonia behind India’s CONVERSION!?! Amazing!! We need to check in that case whether India is still a secular country with a 0.2% Christian presence or a CHRISTIAN NATION with 0.2% Hindu presence!
Holy fools! The gullible can only fool the gullible and on one else!!
Published by Feku Press. Need diversions from electoral defeats and pandemic.