Nationalist Congress Party accuses Goa BJP minister of posting fake pic with Narendra Modi

PANAJI: The Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP) today accused the Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar of posting a "fake" picture on a social networking site which shows him posing with Narendra Modi at the latter's oath-taking ceremony as Prime Minister in New Delhi.

"Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar has posted a picture on Facebook, which tags that it was clicked with (Narendra) Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan for swearing-in ceremony," the state NCP spokesman Trojano D'Mello said while addressing a press conference here.

"This post is a white lie," the spokesperson alleged. D'Mello, who circulated the photograph during the press conference, said that Modi was wearing a cream-coloured kurta with a waist coat during his swearing-in while the photograph posted by Parulekar shows Modi in a short kurta with a white collar.

The NCP leader also said that state chief minister Manohar Parrikar's Under Secretary Siddharth Cuncolienkar is also seen in the photograph, which he said was not the case.

"Cuncolienkar was very much in Goa and was part of the live screening of (Modi's) oath taking ceremony at Azad Maidan in Panaji," D'Mello said.

The NCP has demanded a "written apology" from the minister, saying the FB post is " misrepresentation of facts that involve the prime minister of our country".

Parulekar was not available for comment despite several attempts.

When contacted, the Tourism Minister's office said that the picture might have been posted erroneously".