Fact Check: Ex-HDFC chairman’s praise for BJP manifesto came in run-up to 2014 Lok Sabha polls

Quote attributed to Deepak Parekh in the screenshot now going viral summarises a piece he wrote for Times of India in 2014, in which he called the manifesto 'extremely detailed document'.

A screenshot of a social media post claiming to show a statement by HDFC ex-chairman on the recent BJP election manifesto. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

A screenshot of a newspaper clipping quoting HDFC ex-chairman Deepak Parekh’s opinion on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manifesto is going viral as a recent statement amid the ongoing Indian elections.

The statement reads, “If BJP comes to power, and they are able to achieve even one-third of what the manifesto said in five years, it would make a great change. The manifesto is an extremely detailed document that touches practically everything… I have not seen such a detailed report anywhere”.

Social media users, including known misinformation spreader Rishi Bagree (archived here, here, and here) shared the image and wrote, “Deepak Parekh, Chairman HDFC on BJP election’ manifesto”. Another user said, “This opinion from Shri Deepak Parekh validates the strength of BJP Manifesto for #ModiAgain2024”.

Screenshots of the viral posts on social media. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What are the facts?

Parekh is an Indian businessman and former chairman of HDFC, a banking and financial services company. On 18 April, 2024, Parekh resigned as chairman and non-executive director of HDFC Life Insurance.

We found no evidence of Parekh speaking about BJP’s 2024 election manifesto. After a keyword search on the supposed statement, we found that the earliest online posts carrying the viral newspaper clip are from 2014.

BJP’s IT Head Amit Malviya had shared the viral image on X (then Twitter) on 8 April, 2014, with the caption, “Big thumbs up to #BJP’s manifesto. So does Deepak Parekh. He likes the #BJPManifesto too”.

Big thumbs up to #BJP's manifesto.. RT @Ringside_Seat So does Deepak Parekh. He likes the #BJPManifesto too. pic.twitter.com/wMte9GQFuE

— Amit Malviya (मोदी का परिवार) (@amitmalviya) April 8, 2014

Similarly, a Facebook user also shared the image on 8 April, 2014, and wrote, “What Chairman of HDFC Bank, Deepak Parekh have to say on BJP’s manifesto.”

Another X user also claimed the newspaper cutting to be from 8 April, 2014, as he captioned the image on 8 April, 2014, “This is what Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC has to say about #BJPManifesto: (Today’s TOI)”.

This is what Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC has to say about #BJPManifesto : (Today's TOI) pic.twitter.com/h02scKGXfQ

— Nationalizer🇮🇳 (@nationalizer) April 8, 2014

Parekh’s TOI piece

Taking a cue from the above posts, we found an opinion piece by Parekh published in The Times of India on 10 April, 2014, headlined ‘A blueprint for governance: BJP manifesto strikes a balance between the practical and the audacious’. Parekh’s quote from the viral screenshot seemed to summarise the piece and he was talking about the BJP’s 2014 election manifesto.

While Parekh wrote a lengthier piece on the same topic on 10 April, 2014, we could not independently verify whether Parekh’s quote was also published around the same time in April 2014, as claimed in the social media posts, however, it is clear that it has no connection to the 2024 general elections.

The verdict

Deepak Parekh’s opinion on the BJP manifesto is old and dates back to the time around the 2014 general elections. It has no connection to the recently published BJP manifesto for the 2024 polls.

This story was originally published by Logically Facts as part of the Shakti Collective. Apart from the headline and introduction, this story has not been edited by ThePrint.