On Tuesday (20th February), Union Minister Smriti Irani held the Jan Samvad programme where she met and heard the grievances of residents of her Lok Sabha constituency, Amethi. A video from the event is going viral where Irani can be seen consoling an old lady who shared her grievance regarding her land and property. The video was cited by some with misleading claims.
Resharing the video, a journalist pointed that “the poor elderly woman is crying saying that her house has been demolished with a bulldozer”. A while later, DM Amethi Nisha Anant through her official X account issued a clarification to put to rest the mileading optics which were also shared by the likes of Islamist Mohammad Zubair.
The District Magistrate, at 4.18 PM, pointed out that the application in the said video is not homeless and has shelter and that the land in question was illegally occupied by her.
“In the said case, the Sub-Disrict Magistrate (SDM) Amethi informed that illegal encroachment was done by planting a wall and some eucalyptus trees in Gram Sabha Dalshahpur. After receiving the complaint, the wall has been removed and the trees are being auctioned. The applicant is not shelterless, there is housing in the populated area. It is being admitted by the applicant herself that she had illegal occupation of the land, due to which the said land has been secured,” the DM wrote.
Despite the clarification and details of the case issued by the DM, Islamist fake-news peddler Mohammed Zubair, who identifies as a ‘fact checker’, used the video to cast a shadow of doubt on the state.
Taking to X, Zubair wrote at 4.19 PM, “The poor old lady from Amethi says, JCB Chalwa Diya humari Zameen pe. (They carried out bulldozer action on our property) Smriti Irani : Amma, Sarkari Zameen thi amma? (Was it government property?) Old Lady: Sarkaari Zameen nahi thi humari Zameen thi, Hum Jhoot nahi bole (It was not government property, it was our property, i am not lying.)“
The audio of the elder woman can be heard clearly where she says that the land she is referring to is not hers. Moreover, the district administration clarified that only an illegally built wall had been demolished.
Mohammed Zubair is known to stick to his fake version of news despite audio-visual evidence and statements from authorised institutions pointing out the right information.