Fact Check: Painting Behind Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Not Of Jesus Christ

After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared a selfie of him and Sonia Gandhi having voted during the sixth phase of polling for the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the photo was widely shared on social media.

The claim

Those sharing the photograph took a dig at Gandhi calling himself a 'janeudhari brahmin', (thread-wearing Brahmin), while claiming that he had a photo of Jesus Christ in his room, but none of Hindu Gods.

• Among those sharing this is X (formerly Twitter) user 'MrSinha_'.

But...?: The photo does not show Jesus.

• It is a painting titled 'Madonna Oriflamma' by Russian painter Nicholas Roerich, where the lady in the painting is holding a banner of peace.

How did the Quint find out the truth?: We noticed that the photo in the background showed a person holding a banner with three red dots, surrounded by a red circle.

• Using this description ('person holding red circle with three dots painting') as a search term led us to a 2017 blog post with the same image.
• It identified the image as a 1932 painting titled 'Madonna Oriflamma' by one Nikolai Roerich.
• It also mentioned that the geometrical art was Roerich's creation, which he called the 'Banner of peace', elaborating on the symbolism of the banner.
• We looked up the name of the painting and found it on several websites across the internet.
• One of the results included the painting's WikiArt page, last updated in 2013, which mentioned that the art was on display at the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York.

• The museum's Facebook page also shared the painting's photograph in 2021, discussing its meaning and symbolism.
• Moreover, Roerich's website also carries a visual of the painting with details about its medium and dimensions, stating that it has been on loan to the museum since 1960.

Reproduced and printed versions of the painting are also easily available for purchase on the internet, as seen here, here, and here.

Conclusion: The painting seen in Rahul and Sonia Gandhi's photo is not one of Jesus Christ.

(This story was originally published by The Quint and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective.)

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Kate Middleton Will Not Appear In Public This Year: Report

Months after Princess of Wales Kate Middleton announced she had been diagnosed with cancer and was in the “early stages” of treatment, royal family sources revealed she might “not appear in public for the rest of the year.”

Kate is “surrounded” by her family as she undergoes preventive chemotherapy, The Daily Beast reported.

The Princess of Wales is expected to spend the next week at the country home on the Sandringham Estate with her family. Her parents would likely join them.

Over the next six weeks, Prince William will likely spend more time with his family. He was given time off after the British royal family noted they would be stepping back from a few engagements to avoid distracting from the upcoming general elections scheduled for July 4.

A source, quoted by the publication, said the Princess of Wales is not expected to be seen in any public-facing role in the medium term, adding to the possibility of her remaining absent from public life for the rest of 2024.

"Lots of people involved in planning need to know what the principals are doing a long way in advance. I am told that Kate's diary for this year is empty. There is nothing planned. She may not appear in public for the rest of the year," the source told the outlet.

So, how does the Royal Family plan to deal with the inevitable resurgence of conspiracy theories and speculations that her absence would trigger?

The source shared the possibility of another video message updating the country on her health can't be ruled out, adding it worked as an "effective way" to keep the conspiracy theorists at bay.

A friend of the royal couple, on the condition of anonymity, said that for now, the most crucial thing for Kate is to avoid stress and anxiety so she can move on with getting better. They will bail out and be off to Sandringham the moment school breaks up, the friend said.

The Princess of Wales prefers to confide in her family rather than her friends - most of whom are expected to attend the Duke of Westminster's wedding next month, the friend said, adding that she is surrounded by her parents, Carole and Michael, and her sister Pippa Middleton and brother James have "obviously been there for her as well."

"They are an incredibly tight family, and Catherine feels absolutely confident relying on them. They have been there for her for decades and never let her down," the source added.

According to reports, the Princess of Wales has not appeared in public in the last several months. On March 22, she announced her cancer diagnosis in a video statement.

In the video, she said initially her condition was believed to be non-cancerous. But she discovered the truth after a successful abdominal surgery in January as subsequent tests revealed cancer was present.

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Indian Filmmaker's 'All We Imagine As Light' Wins Grand Prix At Cannes

Filmmaker Payal Kapadia on Saturday scripted history as her spellbinding drama "All We Imagine as Light" won the Grand Prix award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

The film bagged the award, which is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or, during the closing ceremony of the 77th edition.

Ms Kapadia's feature directorial debut, which screened on Thursday night and has received glowing reviews in the international press, already registered its name in the history books after it became the first Indian film in 30 years and the first ever by an Indian female director to be showcased in the main competition.

The screening of the film received an eight-minute standing ovation from the audience members. "All We Imagine as Light", a Malayalam-Hindi feature, is about Prabha, a nurse, who receives an unexpected gift from her long-estranged husband that throws her life into disarray. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a private spot in the big city to be alone with her boyfriend.

One day the two nurses go on a road trip to a beach town where the mystical forest becomes a space for their dreams to manifest, according to the plotline.

International critics have given the film a thumbs up and praised Ms Kapadia's storytelling prowess.

An alumna of the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), Ms Kapadia is best known for her acclaimed documentary "A Night of Knowing Nothing", which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival's Director's Fortnight side-bar where it won the Oeil d'or (Golden Eye) award.

Her short film "Afternoon Clouds" in Cinefondation, a category dedicated to supporting the next generation of talented filmmakers. "All We Imagine As Light" is an Indo-French co-production between Petit Chaos from France and Chalk and Cheese Films from India.

The main competition jury was chaired by filmmaker Greta Gerwig and also included Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona, Turkish actor-screenwriter Ebru Ceylan, Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, American actor Lily Gladstone, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Lebanese actor-director Nadine Labaki and French stars Eva Green and French actor Omar Sy.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Delhi, Haryana Vote Today In Penultimate Phase: 10 Points

1. Voting will take place today in eight seats each in Bihar and Bengal, seven in Delhi, 10 in Haryana, four in Jharkhand, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, and the final seat in Jammu & Kashmir -- Anantnag-Rajouri, where poling was moved from the third to the sixth phase.
2. Odisha will pick representatives for 42 assembly constituencies and six Lok Sabha seats.
3. By the end of today, election will be completed in 486 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. Polling will also be completed in Haryana, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.
4. The most riveting contest will be for national capital Delhi, where the BJP swept all seven seats in 2019. This time, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party is out to prise a few with its "Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se" campaign. AAP is contesting four seats in the national capital, its ally Congress three.
5. The phase will be crucial for NDA, which has to keep its score intact to meet its "400-plus" target. In 2019, the BJP alone won 40 of the 58 constituencies going to polls today in the Hindi heartland and the east. Its NDA allies won five more seats.
6. The parties of the Opposition INDIA bloc -- Trinamool Congress, National Conference and Samajwadi Party – had won five seats, the Congress none.
7. Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party -- which contested the election in alliance with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party in 2019 and is now unaligned -- and Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal also won a few.
8. The key candidates for this phase are the BJP's Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan from Sambalpur,  Manohar Lal Khattar from Karnal, Sambit Patra from Puri, Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur, late Union minister Sushma Swaraj's daughter Bansuri Swaraj from the New Delhi constituency, Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi and industrialist Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra.
9. On the Opposition bloc are former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti from Anantnag, actor-turned politician Raj Babbar from Gurgaon, Deepender Singh Hooda from Rohtak, JNU students' union's former president Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi.
10. The counting of votes will be held on June 4 after the last phase of the election ends on June 1.

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CSK CEO's New Twist To MS Dhoni Retirement Saga, Says "We Do Expect..."

Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan said he is 'very, very hopeful' of former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni participating in IPL 2025 as a player. Dhoni, who led CSK to a record five Indian Premier League titles, stepped down as the skipper before the start of the ongoing season, handing the responsibilities to Ruturaj Gaikwad, who led the team to a fifth place finish. Speculations have been rife that this could be Dhoni's final season in the tournament but Viswanathan asserted that it was completely up to the former India captain to take a final call on his future.

"I do not know. It is a question which only MS can answer. The question for us, we have always respected the decisions taken by MS. We have left it to him," he said to a question on CSK's YouTube channel.

"As all of you know, he has always taken his decisions and announced them at the appropriate time. We do expect that we will get a decision as and when he decides.

"But we are very, very hopeful that he will be available for CSK the next year. That is the view and expectations of the fans and mine."

Dhoni, who had undergone surgery to treat a knee injury issue last year, scored 161 runs in 73 balls at a strike rate of 220.55 this season. He was also good behind the stumps.

A mega IPL auction has been scheduled later in the year and if Dhoni continues, CSK will undoubtedly be retaining him.

However, the number of players allowed to be retained still needs clarity.

Viswanathan said that discussions are yet to take place on the same with the BCCI.

"It is too early because we have still not heard from BCCI on the kind of retentions which are going to be part of the next cycle of auction.

"So we are expecting that the BCCI would discuss with all franchise owners before they take a decision on retention."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Video: Noida Man's Bizarre 'Stunts' In SUV Involve Scaring College Students

A 25-year-old Delhi resident, accused of endangering the safety of pedestrians by allegedly driving his SUV recklessly on a street here, was arrested on Friday, police said.

Prince Mavi has been booked for violation of road traffic rules and fined Rs 35,000 as a penalty, they said.

In videos that surfaced on social media, he is seen driving an SUV on a street near Amity University and braking close to pedestrians, leaving them terrified. Those terrified by his acts included college-going men and women, it was seen in the videos.

"On Friday, a viral video on social media came to the notice in which a Mahindra Thar registered in Haryana was seen dangerously performing stunts, putting the lives of people in danger on the road of a private university in Sector-125, Noida," a police spokesperson said.

"Based on the video, an FIR was registered at the local Sector-126 police station and an investigation was launched, after which the driver of the car, accused Prince Mavi, son of Pitambar Mavi, resident of Hari Nagar Extension Part-2 in Delhi, was arrested," the official said.

The vehicle has been impounded, police said.

Separately, the traffic police said it has slapped challans totalling Rs 35,000 on Mavi for flouting multiple rules of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Use of tinted glasses, faulty number plates (which had casteist mentions on them), dangerous driving, and violation of prescribed levels of air pollution, were among the violations, police said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Indian Student From Andhra Pradesh Dies In Bike Accident In New York

In a tragic incident, an Indian student In New York died after he met with a bike accident.

Shri Belem Atchyuth from Andhra Pradesh was a student at The State University of New York (SUNY) and passed away in a bike accident Wednesday evening.

"Saddened to learn about the untimely demise of Shri Belem Atchyuth, a student at SUNY who met with a bike accident and passed away yesterday evening," the Consulate General of India said in a post on X.

Saddened to learn about the untimely demise of Shri Belem Atchyuth, a student at SUNY who met with a bike accident and passed away yesterday evening; our deepest condolences to the family; @IndiainNewYork is in touch with the bereaved family & local agencies to extend all…

— India in New York (@IndiainNewYork) May 23, 2024

Expressing "deepest condolences" to his family, the Consulate said they are in touch with the "bereaved family & local agencies to extend all assistance including sending the mortal remains back to India".

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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