A screenshot of a tweet supposedly put out by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is being circulated on social media.
The tweet claims that schools and colleges should reopen from June 1, 2020, and suggests that on odd days, teachers should come in and on even days students should go to school.
‘Schools and colleges should reopen from 1st June on odd/even basis. Odd days teachers will come and even days, students will come,’ reads the viral tweet.
The statement of this viral screenshot has been extensively shared on Facebook, some have also attributed the statement to Rahul Gandhi.
The viral photo is being circulated on Twitter as well. Even though, the post looks a joke but many are believing that Rahul Gandhi has actually tweeted it.
The nationwide lockdown which was announced on March 24 is currently in its 4th phase and is set to be lifted on May 31.
Reportedly, the Union Home Ministry said on May 26 that no decision has been taken on the opening of schools and colleges and all educational institutions across the country are still prohibited from restarting.
The statement by the home ministry spokesperson was issued following certain reports that the ministry has permitted all states to open schools.
‘No such decision taken by MHA. All Educational institutions are still prohibited to open, throughout the country(sic),’ the spokesperson tweeted.
All educational institutions have been shut since mid-March, to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic.
Claim:
Rahul Gandhi has tweeted that schools and colleges should reopen from 1st June on odd /even days basis.
Fact Check:
The claim is false.
Fake Tweet
On observing the screenshot of the tweet, 3 details stand out.
Time
According to the screenshot, the tweet from Gandhi came at 8:16 pm on 22 May.
However, on Rahul Gandhi’s official Twitter account, no such tweet could be found from 22 May.
Two of his tweets could be found around that time on May 22: One at 7:15 PM and another at 11: 53 PM.
I’m sorry to hear about the air crash in Pakistan in which many lives have been lost. News of survivors is a ray of hope & I pray that there are many miraculous stories of survival tonight. My deepest condolences to the families of those who have perished.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 22, 2020
A few days ago, I met a group of migrants walking hundreds of km from their work site in Haryana to their village near Jhansi, UP. Tomorrow, 9 Am onwards, watch their incredible story of grit, determination & survival on my YouTube channel: https://t.co/4WBysS69uG pic.twitter.com/CbR6DR7fF2
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 22, 2020
Dateline
The dateline the viral screenshot reads, ’22 May 20′. In an actual tweet, the dateline read, ‘May 22, 2020’. The mobile version of the Tweet reads the date as ’22/05/20′
Wrong Phone
Further, in the viral photo of the tweet, it is mentioned that the tweet has been generated from a Nokia E75. However, all of Gandhi’s recent tweets states they are generated from an iPhone.
Further, no reports stating his official statement regarding the reopening of schools could be found. Therefore the tweet is fake.
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