Swati Chaturvedi and her imaginary friends: An analysis of her predictions and ‘source’-based rumours

‘Journalist’ Swati Chaturvedi is like an amusement park personified. When she’s not busy conjuring up fiction and passing them off as investigative journalism, she gives us glimpses into her psychotic tendencies through her tweets. On Monday, Chaturvedi took to Twitter to ‘predict’ that pretty soon we will hear of an assassination plot of PM Modi that was foiled.

For a country where two former Prime Ministers, including one in office, were assassinated, one would not take such threats seriously. This tweet of Chaturvedi could mean two things: 1. Chaturvedi is mocking security threat to PM Modi or 2. She might know something about the assassination plot which she fears may get foiled. The former is quite likely because she has made such jokes and ‘predictions’ in the past.

https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/1005297565259055105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/1222880323899285504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Swati Chaturvedi ‘predicts’

And while she is not mocking PM Modi’s security threat and the NSA Ajit Doval, she is busy making ‘predictions’ based on the inputs given by her sources, whom one suspects to be imaginary. One can deduce it by the outcome of those predictions. And if her ‘sources’ are not imaginary, one would have to deal with a different set of worries as one will have to wonder who are these sources giving her input on the assassination of the prime minister.

https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/1226016582855380992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Shaheen Bagh women did not clear the protest site for days even as the coronavirus pandemic threatened. With zero disregard for public health and safety, the ‘protests’ continued for weeks after the Delhi elections. Ergo, if Chaturvedi is good at predicting stuff, I’m Madhuri Dikshit. But wait, what? https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/1182904888646426625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Here are some of her ‘reports’. https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/942572133347049472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Vijay Rupani is currently the Chief Minister of Gujarat. https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/790467891225169921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Varun Gandhi is a BJP MP from Pilibhit. https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/572021866220531712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Amit Shah was the BJP President when the ‘prediction’ was made. He continued to hold the post till 2020. BJP leader JP Nadda was ‘working president’ in 2019 along with Shah and was elected to the top post in party in 2020. And no, Rajnath Singh wasn’t. He continues to be Defence Minister in Modi 2.0. https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/1170301848126836737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw And we all know how that turned out.

Swati Chaturvedi and her ‘sources’

And then there are ‘sources’. Or as some people call, voices in her head. Here is what some of her ‘sources’ have told her.

Starting with latest ‘source-based conspiracy’ ft. Vir Sanghvi, and no this is not a leaked tape. https://twitter.com/virsanghvi/status/1260129069594587136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Swati’s ‘source’ had told her PM Modi will reach out to migrants and make an emotional appeal. Vir Sanghi also chirped in affirmative and added how PM Modi may blame the CMs for ‘harsh measures’. PM Modi announced a relief package of Rs 20 lakh crore, 10% of GDP. He stressed on self reliance. Perhaps the voice in Swati’s head needs some fine-tuning. https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/1254042345411973121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw This is such a no-brainer, you don’t even need to consult your imaginary friend to ‘predict’ this. https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/1192381814402211843?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw This is also how I attribute my own outrageous ideas to non-existent people to escape liabilities of my words. https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/1177147208077959168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Most Indians still waiting for this to come true. https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/537131673767251968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw And the Schrödinger’s cat.

And while no one really should be taking Swati Chaturvedi seriously, she still continues to be a source of amusement.

Update July 2020:

UP-based notorious gangster Vikas Dubey was arrested from Ujjain on Thursday, 9th July. He was on the run for a week after he and his men killed 8 policemen, including a DSP, who had gone to arrest him earlier this week. On Wednesday evening, Swati had predicted, perhaps after talking to her ‘sources’ that Dubey had ran away to Nepal. Nepal and Ujjain are in separate directions.

Social media user Ankur Singh on Sunday pointed out Chaturvedi’s u-turn after Hardik Patel’s appointment as Gujarat Congress chief.

https://twitter.com/iAnkurSingh/status/1282180727459602432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

In 2015, Swati was of the opinion that Hardik Patel is planted by the RSS. She had said how Patel was symbol of ‘awful mutation of Hindutva’ in Gujarat. She also believed he was ‘Plan B’ of RSS’ anti-reservation movement. Four years down the line, She believes that Patel is an excellent choice for Congress to lead the party in the state. She believes he is one of the few people who can mobilise people on ground.

Note: The article has been updated with the latest ‘source-based’ conspiracy that turned out to be a dud.