According to a report published in the Indian Express, the Director Generals of several Central Armed Forces were not invited to the Republic Day Parade this year. However, this turned out to be misleading information because all of the DGs were invited to the Parade, and several of them attended the event.
The report read, “The DGPs of the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITB, and SSB were not invited to the Republic Day parade. The omission is perceived as a snub to the one odd million personnel of the central forces.” The claim appeared in an opinion piece titled “Why PM Modi wasted no time in installing Netaji’s statue” by Coomi Kapoor, where it was added under the section titled ‘Not Invited’.
However, this claim has turned out to be false, as several CAPFs have refuted the report and informed their chiefs were invited to the parade and they have attended the same.
This misinformation was first countered by the Twitter handle of Central Reserved Police forces (CRPF). It tweeted “The information published in @IndianExpress that DG CRPF was not invited to Republic Day Parade is not just incorrect but also ill intended and insulting to the Force. Shri Kuldiep Singh, DG CRPF, was invited to the Republic Day Parade which he attended.”
The information published in @IndianExpress that DG CRPF was not invited to Republic Day Parade is not just incorrect but also ill intended and insulting to the Force. Shri Kuldiep Singh, DG CRPF, was invited to the Republic Day Parade which he attended. pic.twitter.com/KzDeKR7dYj
— 🇮🇳CRPF🇮🇳 (@crpfindia) January 30, 2022
Similarly, Indo-Tibetan Border Police also refuted the claim. The CAPF said that DG ITBP was invited & attended the Parade. ITBP also added that it was for the 1st time that the ‘Janbaz’ bikers of ITBP displayed a brave show at the parade.
A newspaper published today a piece that DsG of CAPFs were not invited at the Republic Day Parade 2022.
— ITBP (@ITBP_official) January 30, 2022
It is clarified that the DG ITBP was invited & attended the Parade.
It was for the 1st time that the 'Janbaz' bikers of ITBP displayed a brave show at the parade.#Himveers pic.twitter.com/pY3sYkI7i9
It is notable that DG ITBP Sanjay Arora also has the additional charge of SSB. Therefore, even though SSB has not issued any statement regarding the Indian Express report, their chief was invited to the parade and he had attended the same.
Central Industrial Security Force tweeted to inform that the Indian Express report was fake. It said that DG CISF Sheel Vardhan Singh was invited to the 73rd Republic Day parade at Rajpath, New Delhi, and he attended the same. “The information published in news paper stating that DsG of CAPF were not invited at the Republic Day Parade 2022 is incorrect,” CISF said.
DG #CISF Sh. Sheel Vardhan Singh was invited & attended the 73rd #RepublicDay parade at Rajpath, New Delhi.
— CISF (@CISFHQrs) January 30, 2022
The information published in news paper stating that DsG of CAPF were not invited at the Republic Day Parade 2022 is incorrect.@HMOIndia @PIBHomeAffairs @SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/R8CCHQIg29
BSF has not responded to the report yet, but given that the DGs of all other CAPFs were invited to the parade and they attended the same, it can be said with reasonable certainty that DG BSF was also invited.
After the individual CAPFs refuted the report, Indian Express removed the ‘Not Invited’ section from the article. It added an Editor’s note saying “The last item in this article titled ‘Not invited’ was incorrect and has been removed. The error is regretted.“
It should be mentioned that Indian Express has been accused of disseminating fake news and promoting misinformation on countless occasions.
Very recently, when PM Modi’s convoy was blocked in Ferozepur Punjab and his security was breached, The Indian Express reported that Khalistani slogans were raised by the BJP workers near the Ludhiana DCs office. The truth, however, was far from the catchy headline that IE had picked. Conversely, IE stated in the same article that the slogans raised by BJP activists were ‘Khalistania da yaar Channi Murdabad’ (friend of Khalistanis, Channi Murdabad) and ‘Attwadian nu panah den wala Channi Murdabad’ (one who host terrorists, Channi murdabad). PM Modi’s convoy was blocked when he was heading towards Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district of Punjab to visit the National Martyr’s Memorial and subsequently address a public meeting.
