A columnist associated with the Left leaning website Newslaundry, has displayed his bigotry in all its glory today, by trying to pass off a 2016 video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting Sayed Fakhar Kazmi Chisty of Ajmer Sharif, as a recent video. Not only that, he said this was Modi’s attempt to appease the Muslim minority in poll bound Gujarat.
https://twitter.com/iJasOberoi/status/925564020832182272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In the video, Modi could be seen greeting Muslim religious leaders and showing respect to the gift offered by the head. He is seen bowing to what looks like a book of religious scriptures. To any viewer, it would seem more like Prime Minister Modi being respectful to sacred books of religions other than his own, something any civilised person would do.
What is outrageous is that this video is not from recent times, but from May 2016, when the religious heads had visited the Prime Minister, as pointed out by this Twitter user.
https://twitter.com/attomeybharti/status/925658348107718656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In fact, Prime Minister Modi had himself tweeted about this meeting back in 2016.
https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/727137649182560258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
On Social Media, such misrepresentations and lies have a tendency of taking a life of their own. That is exactly what happened. Soon after Jas Oberoi had tweeted, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh, too quoted the tweet and spread it further saying how Modi wore the turban of Muslim religious leaders, but that too in closed rooms.
https://twitter.com/SanjayAzadSln/status/925574406297882624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This is not a one off instance where Oberoi has spread out of context, mischievously edited videos to spread misinformation. Today he spread a 30 second video clip of PM Modi speaking on climate change where it seemed like PM Modi was denying the phenomenon of climate change.
https://twitter.com/iJasOberoi/status/925241138738380800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Actually, this video is a part of longer video of Prime Minister Modi explaining climate change to school children.
https://twitter.com/moronhumor/status/925067162515116032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Earlier, too, Oberoi had made an extremely Hinduphobic remark when he asked BJP spokesperson Tajinder Bagga, a Sikh supporting Hindu festival, to give up Sikhism.
https://twitter.com/TajinderBagga/status/900364843894439936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/iJasOberoi/status/900382120450732032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
He had also referred to a VHP meet for temple as “Hindu terrorist recruitment drive”.
https://twitter.com/iJasOberoi/status/851093225754337280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
NewsLaundry, when asking for funds, appeals to people to come forth and help them “keep news free”. Perhaps it is time people appeal to NewsLaundry and their columnists to try and “keep news real” and “free from bigotry”.