A doctored photograph released by the government showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi surveying severe flooding from a helicopter has been deleted and his office promised remedial action after criticism on social media.
Modi traveled to Chennai on Thursday to get a first-hand view of the disaster, after the strongest rains in a century killed more than 280 people in a month.
The government’s Press Information Bureau published a photograph on its Web site that showed Modi looking through the round window of a helicopter, through which a clear view of waterlogged buildings was visible.
A similar photograph, but with a blurred view through the window, was posted on Modi’s Twitter feed.
The prime minister’s office was shocked to see facts being distorted, said a senior official, adding that officials from the press office had been summoned.
“We will not allow anyone to falsify the facts,” another official in Modi’s office said yesterday. “The prime minister will not tolerate this.”
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