Congress state units compare Gujarat migrant exodus with Partition using 2010 photo

The widely-shared image, showing an overcrowded passenger train, is from Mathura.

New Delhi: As Gujarat witnesses an exodus of migrant workers, the Congress party’s state units are widely sharing an eight-year-old image with a misleading caption.

The image, featuring an overcrowded Indian Railways train, has gone viral on social media.

On Wednesday, the verified account of Chhattisgarh Youth Congress shared the image on Twitter and compared the exodus to the movement of people in 1947 between India and Pakistan after Partition.

गंगा के लाल ने, अपना फर्ज निभा दिया,
यूपी बिहार के बिछड़े, बच्चों को वापिस घर पंहुचा दिया।
जिन्होंने 1947 का विभाजन नहीं देखा ,उनको 2018 का विभाजन दिखा दिया। pic.twitter.com/2QbHOcEXh0

— CG Youth Congress (@IYCChhattisgarh) October 11, 2018

The caption of the image, originally in Hindi, said, “The son of Ganga (a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has fulfilled his duty and sent the lost children of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar back to their homes. For those who didn’t see the 1947 Partition, he is now showing them the division of 2018.”

The verified Twitter handle of the party unit in Himachal Pradesh also tweeted the image. The party targeted Modi’s ideology saying it’s leading to slavery.

गुजरात से यूपी बिहार और मध्य प्रदेश के मजदूरों का भगाया जाना बहुत ही शर्मनाक है। हम अपने देश में विदेशी बनते जा रहे हैं। मोदी सरकार की सोच गुलामी की तरफ जाने का संकेत दे रही है। pic.twitter.com/GIzx49C7be

— Himachal Congress (@INCHimachal) October 11, 2018

The same image was also shared by Madhya Pradesh Congress IT cell vice-president Shilpi Singh. She has more than 20,000 followers on Twitter.

गंगा के लाल ने अपना फर्ज निभा दिया,
यूपी बिहार के बिछड़े बच्चों को वापिस घर पंहुचा दिया।
जिन्होंने 1947 का विभाजन नहीं देखा वो 2018 का विभाजन देखें ।
गुजरात से भागते बिहार और यूपी के लोग
ऐसे तो भारत देश के टुकड़े हो जायेंगे फिर ना भाजपा राज कर पाएगी और ओर ना ही कांग्रेस। pic.twitter.com/dGfylwQ0dd

— Shilpi Singh (@ShilpiSinghINC) October 11, 2018

However, the July 2010 photo is actually of Hindu devotees travelling in a crowded passenger train to participate in a festival near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. It’s owned by international news agency Reuters and was clicked by photographer K.K. Arora.

Migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are fleeing the state of Gujarat in the aftermath of violence in several places. The attacks started after a migrant from Bihar was accused of raping a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha district. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Tuesday blamed Congress for inciting violence against the migrants.

In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer.