Morphed photo of Rajnath Singh, Karat and a laddoo lands TMC in a soup

The Trinamool congress was caught on a wrong foot on Saturday when party leader Derek O’Brien showed a picture to media persons in which BJP leader Rajnath Singh was seen offering ‘laddu’ to CPI (M) leader Prakash Karat.

The original and morphed photos

The BJP and the CPM have threatened legal action after TMC spokesperson Derek O’Brien showed a “morphed” photo to prove proximity between the two parties.

On Saturday, O’Brien called a press conference in which he showed two videos of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s speeches and four photographs, including one that showed Home Minister Rajnath Singh offering a laddoo to former CPM general secretary Prakash Karat.

Read: Prakash Karat files formal complaint against Derek O’Brien

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His press conference was prompted by an earlier one by the Congress, where a 2001 video was aired that showed CM Mamata Banerjee referring to the BJP as “a natural ally” of the TMC. Rahul, too, attacked Mamata at two rallies Saturday.

In response, O’Brien sought to show that the Left and the BJP were “two sides of the same coin”. He said the photograph with the laddoo was his “favourite”. But the photograph turned out to be “photoshopped”. BJP released the “real picture” — in which Rajnath is seen offering the sweet to the PM.

TMC removed the photograph from its website, admitting the mistake on Twitter. O’Brien also admitted it on Facebook. A TMC leader said Mamata personally asked that the photo be removed. CPM’s Mohammad Salim called it “a grave crime” and threatened to lodge a police complaint. BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh promised legal action.

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