Claim
When Rahul Gandhi was portrayed as Parshuram and given a milk abhishekam, the critics now objecting stayed silent.
“तो यह जो परशुराम बनाकर 15 साल की बच्ची दूध का अभिषेक हो रहा था राहुल गांधी को तब आवाज क्यों नहीं निकली थी आपकी?”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
The underlying event is real: Youth Congress workers in Varanasi did portray Rahul Gandhi as Parshuram and perform a milk abhishek on his poster on his 19 June 2026 birthday. But the anchor's framing is misleading on two counts: (1) contemporaneous reporting shows the event drew immediate, loud condemnation from BJP leaders and Brahmin community groups — critics did NOT stay silent, undercutting the whataboutism premise; and (2) the specific detail of a '15-year-old girl' performing the abhishek does not appear in any news coverage, which attributes the ritual to Youth Congress workers generally. A genuine event is thus recast with a false 'silence' premise and an unsupported detail.
Evidence
- https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/story/india/uttar-pradesh/congress-workers-offer-gangajal-milk-and-rose-petals-to-rahul-gandhis-parshuram-styled-photo-on-latters-birthday-4045993 Confirms the core event: on Rahul Gandhi's 56th birthday (19 June 2026), Youth Congress workers in Varanasi depicted him as Lord Parshuram (axe in one hand, Constitution in the other) and performed a milk abhishek on the portrait at the Ganga. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.opindia.com/news-updates/varanasi-congress-workers-depict-rahul-gandhi-as-lord-parashurama-and-pour-milk-on-the-portrait/ Documents the milk-pouring ritual and describes it as done by Youth Congress workers; makes no mention of a 15-year-old girl performing the abhishek. ✗ unreachable · HTTP 403
- https://www.thehansindia.com/amp/news/national/lop-rahul-gandhis-birthday-celebrated-in-varanasi-with-parashuram-portrayal-bjp-hits-out-1087975 Shows the event was NOT met with silence — BJP leaders (e.g. Shehzad Poonawalla) and UP Dy CM Brajesh Pathak publicly condemned it as an insult to Hindu faith at the time. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.aajtak.in/madhya-pradesh/story/rahul-gandhi-poster-lord-parashuram-sparks-brahmin-community-objection-lcla-rptc-2582414-2026-06-19 Reports the Brahmin community and All India Brahmin Samaj objected to the depiction when it happened, contradicting the claim that objectors stayed silent. ✓ reachable · archived