Is picture of Rahul Gandhi saluting national flag with left hand real?

A photo of Rahul Gandhi has been going viral on social media, wherein, the Congress leader is seen saluting the Indian national flag with his left hand. However, it turns out to be a morphed picture.

Posted by a Facebook page titled Zee News Global Fans, the picture caption in Hindi mocks Rahul saying, "This great leader does not even know which hand to use for salute. And he wishes to become the country's Prime Minister".

India Today did a fact-check on the viral photo, and concluded that the image is morphed. The original photo shows Rahul salute with his right hand, and the picture was inverted to make it appear in the wrong manner.

The report further stated that the photo is around nine years old. Apparently, the picture has been used by multiple news publications in the past as well. It was apparently clicked during 65th Independence Day.

The report further stated that as per government guidelines, salutes should be given with the right hand, unless a person faces physical incapacity in saluting with right hand.

Morphed images of politicians going viral on social media is not a new thing now. There have been several instances where pictures of top political leaders are morphed to send out a wrong impression among people.