TMC photoshop row: Now Karat files complaint against Derek O’ Brien

Prakash Karat on Sunday filed a police complaint against Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien in New Delhi for morphing the former CPI-M general secretary’s photograph that showed Home Minister Rajnath Singh offering him a sweet.

Prakash Karat on Sunday filed a police complaint against Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien in New Delhi for morphing the former CPI-M general secretary’s photograph that showed Home Minister Rajnath Singh offering him a sweet.

TMC courts controversy by posting morphed photo of Rajnath Singh

“I have lodged a complaint with Delhi Police as morphing a photograph like the manner it was done by a political party is an offence under cyber laws. Therefore, I have requested police to register an FIR in this connection,” Karat told reporters after lodging a formal complaint with Mandir Marg police station in central Delhi.

Communist Party of India-Marxist sources said Karat has, in fact, never met Rajnath on such a stage or a public function and, therefore, morphing such a picture smacked of political motives.

On Saturday, addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Trinamool Congress’s floor leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O’ Brien played two videos of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s speeches and four pictures, including one that showed Rajnath Singh offering a sweet to Prakash Karat, former general secretary of the CPI-M.

Pointing to this particular picture, O’Brien even called it his “favourite”.

However, in no time it was revealed that the photograph was photoshopped and made in an attempt to prove close links between CPI-M and BJP leaders.

The Bharatiya Janata Party later came up with the “real picture” -- that has Rajnath Singh offering sweets to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Trinamool subsequently admitted that the picture was photoshopped and removed it from its website.

“Two videos and six pictures were shown at our press conference. We removed one pic immediately when our research team learned it was photoshopped,” the Trinamool said on its official Twitter account, which was retweeted by O’Brien.

The Trinamool MP subsequently in a video message on his Facebook admitted it was a mistake and sought to “end the chapter”.