Indian politician falsely accused of pinning Pakistan flag to his car

The photo was posted on Twitter here on June 8, 2021. 

Its caption, translated from Hindi, reads: “Shame on the acts of such unpatriotic people! This car does not belong to a citizen of any other country. This car, which has the flag of Pakistan, belongs to Kasaragod Muslim League MLA Nellikunnu Abdul Ahmed Key.”

NA Nellikkunnu is a representative for India's southwestern Kerala state and a member of the Indian Union Muslim League party.

Image

A screenshot of the misleading post taken on June 22, 2021

The photo alongside a similar claim has circulated online since at least 2016 and was shared on Facebook here, here, here and here.

The claim, however, is false.

The flag hoisted on the hood of the car does not represent Pakistan, but rather the Indian Union Muslim League.

Pakistan’s national flag features a dark green background with a vertical white stripe, with a crescent moon and star in the centre, as shown in this AFP photo.

By contrast, the Indian Union Muslim League’s flag has a solid dark green background with a backward crescent moon and star in the top left-hand corner, as seen here on the party's Twitter page.

Below is a comparison of the flag on the car shown in the misleading posts (L) and an AFP photo of the Pakistani flag (R): 

Image

AFP found government documents that show the car in the photo is not registered to NA Nellikkunnu.

An online search for the car’s registration number on this government database shows it is registered to a person with a different name. 

Image

This website, -- which lists the information and assets of Kerala politicians -- shows that Nellikkunnu owns four cars, none of which include the Mercedes Benz depicted in the photo with the false claim. 

An affidavit listing Nellikkunnu’s assets, which was uploaded on March 18, 2021, also states that he owns four cars, none of which is a Mercedes. 

Image