Congress leader Pawan Khera has often taken to his X account not to inform, but to mislead in his relentless pursuit of relevance. Whether it is posting half-baked narratives, recycling old news reports out of context with fresh outrage, or amplifying unverified claims, he has made a habit of pushing misinformation with surprising confidence, something which seems to come from the Congress leader whose political career has been launched countless times. As murmurs grow louder about his Rajya Sabha ambitions, one is left wondering, is this the “tapasya” he claims to be doing, or just a digital shortcut laced with fake news? Here is a list of 7 times Khera used his social media presence to mislead people.
On 9th June, Khera claimed on X that Saudi Arabia had suspended visas for 14 countries including India and called it the “latest blow in a steady collapse of India’s foreign policy” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He then continued to make several false claims in his post, including that Canada had not invited India for the G7 meeting.
Saudi Arabia suspending visas for 14 countries, including India, is just the latest blow in a steady collapse of India’s foreign policy under Modi.
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) June 9, 2025
China blocked naming the attackers at the UN. Pakistan won the backing from China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Malaysia, all…
The Ministry of External Affairs has already debunked the fake news about visas being cancelled. In a post on X, MEA’s dedicated Fact Check account wrote, “The Saudi Government has not issued any notification on this matter. As a matter of practice, during the Hajj season, there are temporary restrictions on short-term visas to avoid overcrowding during this season, which end with the conclusion of Hajj.”
CLAIM: Saudi Arabia temporarily suspends issuance of block work visas for citizens from 14 countries, including India.
— MEA FactCheck (@MEAFactCheck) June 9, 2025
This CLAIM is FALSE.
FACT: The Saudi Government has not issued any notification on this matter. As a matter of practice, during the Hajj season, there are… pic.twitter.com/8dkJddhj3y
Khera further claimed that India had been excluded from the G7. This post was made on 9th June. Notably, on 6th June, PM Modi shared on his X account that the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, had personally called him and invited him to the G7 Summit. PM Modi wrote, “Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada. Congratulated him on his recent election victory and thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit in Kananaskis later this month. As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests. Look forward to our meeting at the Summit.”
This is not the first time Khera has published fake news on his X profile.
Khera repeatedly questioned ceasefire with Pakistan citing Trump’s claims of using trade to stop the operation
Congress has been unable to digest the fact that Operation Sindoor was a success. Notably, the military operation against terrorist organisations in Pakistan and the Pakistani military was paused after Pakistan’s DGMO called India’s DGMO and sought a ceasefire. This fact has been established by the Indian Armed Forces as well as the Minister of External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar.
However, Khera chose to trust the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who has falsely claimed to have mediated between India and Pakistan, and used trade to get both countries to agree to a ceasefire. Despite clarification coming directly from the armed forces and the ministry, Khera kept seeking a statement from PM Modi in his posts. In a post on 22nd May, Khera wrote, “This is the 8th time President Trump has made this claim that he got Operation Sindoor stopped. He claims to have used trade to get India to end Operation Sindoor. Prime Minister Modi has not rejected this claim even once. What does this silence mean?”
This is the 8th time President Trump has made this claim that he got Operation Sindoor stopped.
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) May 22, 2025
He claims to have used trade to get India to end Operation Sindoor.
Prime Minister Modi has not rejected this claim even once. What does this silence mean? https://t.co/5nONvo7Hmi
His misleading statements came at a time when Indian delegations, including MPs from Congress, were on world tour to different countries to put India’s stance against terrorism and details of Operation Sindoor.
Prof Shamika Ravi slammed Pawan Khera for sharing fake news about her.
In December 2024, Professor Shamika Ravi, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and Secretary to the Government of India, slammed Khera for spreading false claims that she received funds from George Soros.
The statement below is entirely incorrect. In 2006/7 The Open Society funded ISB (for work on financial inclusion) – where I was an assistant professor teaching & researching on the topic. No money comes directly to any faculty member.
— Prof. Shamika Ravi (@ShamikaRavi) December 10, 2024
18 years later, I joined the EAC-PM. I have… https://t.co/mQFQ0G8zW0
In a post, Shamika said, “The statement below is entirely incorrect. In 2006/7 The Open Society funded ISB (for work on financial inclusion) – where I was an assistant professor teaching & researching on the topic. No money came directly to any faculty member. 18 years later, I joined the EAC-PM. I have never been more proud of my work, my nation or my Prime Minister. Meanwhile, in 2020, George Soros declared his anti-India designs and guess who swarms towards him?”
Earlier, Khera had tweeted that Prof. Shamika Ravi, PM’s advisor and secretary, Government of India, received a grant from the Open Society Foundation funded by George Soros.
Khera claimed Congress lost Haryana because ECI played mind games
In October 2024, when trends of the Haryana assembly election results went against Congress, Khera insinuated foul play on the part of the ECI. He claimed that there was collusion between the BJP and the ECI to somehow “defeat” Congress. He further claimed that a similar pattern in delayed updating of trends was seen during the Lok Sabha elections as well.
It is amusing that a senior leader of the grand old party fails to cope with the fact that perhaps something was lacking in the ‘Tapasya’ of the Congress party in Haryana. Or maybe the people of Haryana are not too sure about the success of the Jalebi factory Rahul Gandhi talked about.
It has to be noted that all the agents of the political parties get the information about how many votes were cast on any given polling booth the same day of the polling. Any delay in uploading the voting percentage makes no difference. As they already have the numbers in their hands, they can always crosscheck and raise objections if numbers mismatch, which has never happened.
Khera shared old video to claim people of Andhra Pradesh were upset with Naidu supporting PM Modi
In June 2024, after the Lok Sabha elections were announced and it was evident that the NDA would be forming government for the third time under the leadership of PM Modi, Khera quoted an X post by a Congress supporter showing a video of some people burning down posters and flexes. The X user claimed, “Angry people of Andhra Pradesh burning down photos of Chandrababu Naidu for supporting Modi.” Quoting the post, Khera wrote, “Why are people of Andhra Pradesh so angry?”
In a desperate attempt to pull TDP away from NDA, Khera shared an old video that had nothing to do with TDP supporting BJP. After facing backlash for the fake claims, Khera quietly deleted the post but did not apologise for spreading fake news.
India TV warned Congress leaders against spreading fake news about Rajat Sharma
In June 2024, several Congress leaders including Pawan Khera accused journalist Rajat Sharma of abusing on-air. India TV responded and issued a statement vowing legal action against the Congress leaders. In the statement, India TV’s legal head Ritika Talvar pointed out that Sharma has been in the profession for over four decades and has a very high degree of credibility and reputation.
Warning to @NayakRagini @Pawankhera @Jairam_Ramesh
— India TV (@indiatvnews) June 11, 2024
I am writing to you on behalf of India’s most respected journalist and television presenter Mr. Rajat Sharma, who has been in this profession for more than four decades and has a very high degree of credibility and reputation.…
She further clarified that the claims that he used abusive language were false and lack any basis and foundation. “They are malicious and defamatory and clearly constitute fake news. You have blatantly violated all limits of public decency by falsely accusing a personality of high repute. We are taking legal advice on this to take further action,” she wrote.
Khera used old image to spread fake news that BJP has put up hoardings to insult world leaders attending G20 Summit in Delhi
In September 2023, several Congress leaders including Khera claimed that hoardings have been put up ahead of G20 summit which shows that PM Modi is ranked ahead in popularity ahead of several other global leaders. The hoarding said that it was put by BJP leader Vijay Goel. Pawan Khera tweeted, “Is this how we welcome our guests, @VijayGoelBJP ji?”
The hoarding has the image of PM Modi along with the images of the heads of Mexico, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Brazil and the USA, showing the popularity of each leader. PM Modi’s image is the largest is size, as his popularity is highest with 78%.
Notably, Switzerland is not a member of G20. Pawan Khera later deleted the tweet.
The image of the hoarding was old, and it was put up by Vijay Goel after a Morning Consult survey had found that PM Modi is the most popular leader with 78% votes. A report from 6th April carries the Associated Press photograph, clearly showing that the image is at least 5 months old. A Navbharat Times report from 12th April also carries a different photo of the same hoarding.
From sharing outdated visuals to echoing false claims and ignoring official clarifications, Pawan Khera has consistently showed a troubling disregard for facts in his attempt to remain politically relevant. Instead of engaging with constructive discourse or introspecting on electoral defeats, his reliance on misleading posts only exposes the intellectual hollowness that surrounds Congress leadership today. In the age of instant fact-checking, such attempts at narrative manipulation are not just irresponsible, they are politically self-destructive.
