India Today Fact Check team found the photo to be morphed. In the original photo, Chouhan can be seen eating something that does not look like non-vegetarian food.

In the run-up to assembly election in Madhya Pradesh, trolls are keeping the closest watch on all that happens, from the speeches of political leaders to their diets. But they are not right all the time.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the latest victim. Chouhan has been criticised by some netizens for "secretly feasting on non-vegetarian food while publicly claiming to be a staunch Hindu".

These comments are made on the basis of a picture in which Chouhan can be seen having a non-vegetarian meal inside a helicopter.

The picture was shared by Facebook user Ashraf Devgan in a group, 'I support ravish kumar i support truth...'. This public group has more than 80,000 members.

India Today Fact Check team found the photo to be morphed. In the original photo, Chouhan can be seen eating something that does not look like non-vegetarian food.

When we searched on the Internet using keywords, "Shivraj chopper food", we found an article dated November 17, 2018 published on Tribune website.

The photo caption in the article reads: "Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh takes a break for meal inside a chopper during his election for the assembly polls on Saturday." The photo was attributed to Press Trust of India (PTI). We found the original image on the PTI website with the same caption.

Also, in the original photo, a spoon can be seen on the plate. Whereas, in the viral image, which has been badly doctored, a portion of the spoon is still visible.

We also spoke to SK Mishra, principal secretary to the Madhya Pradesh CM, to check if Chouhan is a vegetarian. He told India Today, "Not only is he a pure vegetarian, he even avoids eating at a place where non- vegetarian meal is served."

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INDIA TODAY FACT CHECK





Claim Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was criticised by netizens for secretly feasting on non-vegetarian food while publicly claiming to be a staunch Hindu. Conclusion Photo going viral is morphed. JHOOTH BOLE KAUVA KAATE The number of crows determines the intensity of the lie. 1 Crow: Half True

2 Crows: Mostly lies

3 Crows: Absolutely false