Old Photo Shared as Manohar Lal Khattar Vacating House After Resigning as CM

We found that the image has been online since 2019 and predates the resignation of Khattar as the chief minister.

Fact-Check | The image predates the resignation of Manohar Lal Khattar as the CM of Haryana.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An image which shows an elderly man carrying bags in his hands is going viral with users identifying him as former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

What have users said?: Those sharing the image have uploaded with a caption mentioning that it shows Khattar vacating his official residence with his bags after resigning as the CM. It added that the image shows Khattar's possessions.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

The post had recorded over 1.7 lakhs on the platform. We received a query about the viral image on our WhatsApp tipline as well.

(More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

Is the claim true?: The image has been available online since at least October 2019 and predates Khattar's resignation as the Haryana CM.

• The man in the viral image does not match facial and physical specifications of Khattar.

How did we find that out?: On performing a Google Lens search, we found the same image uploaded on an unverified Facebook handle.

• The image was uploaded on 24 October 2019 with a caption that said, "We are faqir (needy men), we will carry our bag and leave."

• The caption also carried a hashtag '#HaryanaAssemblyPolls', which insinuated a dig at Khattar.

• We found another older version of the same image shared on X in September 2020. This, too, was uploaded to take a dig at Khattar.

Comparing Khattar's image with the viral one: Team WebQoof compared the viral image with Khattar's photograph and found that there are several notable physical differences.

A comparison clearly highlights the differences.

(Photo: Facebook/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

Khattar's resignation: Ahead of the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, Khattar along with his entire cabinet resigned on 12 March.

• The resignation came after the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) withdrew its support to the BJP-led government in the state.

• Nayab Singh Saini was chosen as the new chief minister.

We have reached out to Haryana's CMO and Khattar to seek clarifications on the viral image. This report will be updated as and when a response is received.

Conclusion: While we could not independently identify the person seen in the viral image, it is clear that it is not recent.

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