A self-proclaimed yoga teacher, Ira Trivedi, who runs a show on national broadcaster Doordarshan, has taken to Twitter today to proclaim that she is a strict vegetarian and respects Hindu religion.
https://twitter.com/iratrivedi/status/1154305531915489281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
She added that she promotes vegetarian diet to all those who practice yoga. She also said how her tweets on Hinduism were out of context.
https://twitter.com/iratrivedi/status/1154305536747347968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It all started yesterday when her 2017 interview with CNN News 18 went viral on social media. In the video, she describes beef as the ‘cheapest source of protein’. Ira Trivedi was talking about the ban on beef. According to her beef is an important source of protein for the malnourished and that the ban on beef would be unfair, especially to the Muslim community.
https://twitter.com/Ragy_95/status/1154035086683074561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Ira is the granddaughter of Congress leader and ex-union minister VC Shukla.
https://twitter.com/iratrivedi/status/338344443977551873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
He was the Information and Broadcasting Minister in the Indira Gandhi government and a close associate of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi. During his tenure, he was notorious for muzzling the press. He was the Congress leader who banned Kishor Kumar’s songs from AIR and Doordarshan.
However many pointed out that she was making factually incorrect statements and showed why beef wasn’t the cheapest source of protein.
https://twitter.com/Aabhas24/status/1154109191826444288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
After the video went viral, several screenshots of her previous tweets were also widely shared. In one of the tweets, Ira says the Quran is a progressive text and labelled modern-day Hinduism as regressive. In response to this Ira Trivedi claimed that her tweets have been taken out of context. However, Twitterati wasn’t satisfied with her apology.
https://twitter.com/Red__Wine1/status/1154326473584476160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/iAnkurSingh/status/1154325459489812481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Several users were astonished by her anti-Hindu statements, labelling her as “Hinduphobic”. Users also questioned the Doordarshan for choosing her as a host for one of their programmes. Ira Trivedi hosts the show “Yoga with Ira Trivedi” on the national broadcaster.
https://twitter.com/khushi2318/status/1154043961058582528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In response to one of the tweets, the CEO of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar had taken note of the issue and forwarded it to the Director-General of Doordarshan.
https://twitter.com/shashidigital/status/1154224719584829440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Ashok Shrivastav, a TV journalist for DD had also questioned Doordarshan for choosing Ira Trivedi as the host. Ira Trivedi had also tweeted an apology to him.
In October last year, as the #MeToo movement gained momentum, Ira Trivedi had accused Chetan Bhagat of trying to forcefully kiss her as well as of inappropriate behaviour. This evoked a response from Chetan Bhagat who shared screenshot of her email which she had signed off as ‘miss u kiss u’.