The release of the eight former Navy officials from Qatar jail swept the nation with joy. The people were applauding the Narendra Modi government for its unrelenting efforts to bring back the navy veterans from Qatar’s jail. However, on 13th February, the left-liberal ecosystem began heaping praises on Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who was in Qatar recently, for India’s diplomatic triumph in Qatar.
This came after Subramanian Swamy, the perennially “naraaz fufa” floated a figment of his imagination that not the Central government but actor Shah Rukh Khan facilitated the safe return of the ex-personnel to India.
In response to PM Modi’s X post about his upcoming visits to UAE and Qatar, Swamy alleged that he and the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval failed to secure the release of the eight retired Indian Navy personnel. The veteran politician notorious for peddling fake news and floating conspiracy theories claimed that the eight officers were released on the ‘request’ of Shah Rukh Khan.
“Modi should take cinema star Sharuk Khan (sic) to Qatar with him since after MEA and NSA had failed to persuade the Shiekhs of Qatar, Modi pleaded with Khan to intervene and thus got an expensive settlement from the Qatar Shiekhs to free our Naval officers,” Swamy wrote.
In no time, the leftist ecosystem picked up Swamy’s sweeping claims as universal truth given their limerence for Shah Rukh Khan. The so-called neutral journalists eulogised SRK even as the actor’s office issued a statement categorically denying his involvement in the facilitation of the safe return of the eight ex-navy officers and crediting the Indian government for the “successful resolution”.
Leftist propaganda portal’s ‘journalist’ and ‘2BHK’ fame Rohini Singh demonstrated her journalistic excellence as she wrote on X, “Sometimes denials end up confirming rumours!” SRK’s unequivocal denial of the rumour is somehow a ‘confirmation’ for Rohini Singh since making sense is not the requisite when it’s about eulogising someone to belittle Narendra Modi.
In a similar vein, AltNews’s co-founder Mohammad Zubair infamous for dog-whistling against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, said that SRK’s statement refuting the rumours reflects his ‘badappan’ (greatness). “Yahi SRK ka baddapan,” Zubair wrote.
Ironically, the same Mohammad Zubair used to run a parody page named ‘Unofficial Sususwamy’ where he used to mock the claims made by the same Subramanian Swamy whose fantasy he used yesterday to claim that it was SRK who had a role to play in the release of Navy veterans and not the government of India.
SRK denying rumours crediting him for the Modi government’s diplomatic success was another ‘Zakham’ for The Wire’s senior editor Arfa Khanum Sherwani, who implied that the ‘Shahenshah’, that is PM Modi, took credit for things done by the ‘Badshah’, that is actor Shah Rukh Khan. Arfa insinuated that the Modi government pressed the actor to put out a statement denying his involvement. No one would fact-check her since, as a leftist ‘journalist’, she has the luxury of passing off her imagination as facts.
Not so long ago, Arfa wanted to crowdfund to pay for a ‘spine’ for Shah Rukh Khan because she thought he lacks one.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Congress leader Sohom Banerjee relied on Subramanian Swamy’s sweeping claim to attack the ‘godi media’ and PM Modi’s foreign policy. “SHOCKING!!! While Noida Channels and Godi Media would do propaganda and blabber Modi Modi and run prime-time debates on Modi’s Magic. BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy has revealed that India’s own hero and superstar Shah Rukh Khan had to personally persuade the Emir of Qatar for the release of 8 Indian Navy Officials. This is a huge news which certainly exposes the tall claims of Modi’s foreign policy. A tight slap on the face of the media houses for running propagandas and this has exposed Jaishankar and his Instagram heroics. Shah Rukh Khan is the true son of the country and this is his patriotism,” Banerjee wrote.
SHOCKING!!!
— Sohom Banerjee (@Sohom03) February 13, 2024
While Noida Channels and Godi Media would do propaganda and blabber Modi Modi and run prime time debates on Modi's Magic.
BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy has revealed that India's own hero and superstar Shah Rukh Khan had to personally persuade the Emir of Qatar for… pic.twitter.com/NGUIg59kYA
It is amusing that the same Modi-hating lot which accuses the ‘right-wing’ of being ‘WhatsApp University’ students is blindly believing and amplifying a rumour already refuted by the person involved just because it takes away credit from the Prime Minister and the Central government for their success. In their hate for PM Modi, the ‘liberals’ and ‘neutral’ journalists have desperately trying to convince the public that somehow an actor is more capable of handling diplomatic issues than the Prime Minister, the External Affairs Minister or the government of India.
Interestingly, the same left-liberals use Shah Rukh Khan as a ‘victim’ and also as someone ‘bigger than Narendra Modi’ at their whims. From projecting SRK as a victim targeted by the ‘Hindu nationalist’ government for his religious identity, as was seen during his son Aryan Khan’s arrest in the alleged drugs-on-cruise case, to now projecting him as a man of greater stature than the Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy.
What is even more ironic is that such a narrative peddled by the liberal ecosystem is coming despite the fact the ex-navy officers released from the Qatari jail themselves thanked Prime Minister Modi for his intervention in the matter and ensuring their safe return.
Also, Subramanian Swamy has made many ‘claims’ during his political career. His most famous ones are about Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi, and they are not very pleasant for the bunch of journalists and ‘secular-liberals’ who are hailing SRK now.
Indian Navy personnel thank PM Modi for intervention
On 12th February, the Navy veterans lauded PM Modi for raising the matter with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
One Navy veteran said, “I feel relieved and delighted to be back home safe and sound finally. I wish to thank Prime Minister Modi as this wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for his personal intervention to secure our release. I also wish to express my gratitude to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar.”
Another veteran added, “Without the intervention of PM Modi, we would not have walked free. We wouldn’t be standing before you today had it not been for his untiring efforts and interventions at the highest levels to get us freedom.”
But it doesn’t matter to liberals suffering from Modi derangement syndrome that navy veterans are confirming and lauding PM Modi’s intervention to ensure their safe return, but Subramaniam Swamy, who had nothing to do with the entire episode, is more credible in making claims attributed to Shah Rukh Khan, despite the actor’s denial.
It is, however, not surprising that the left-liberals are desperately pushing their apocryphal narrative around SRK’s imaginary role in the matter to discredit the Modi government since they were at the forefront of attacking PM Modi. As we reported earlier, The Wire, AltNews’s Mohammad Zubair, and several other anti-Modi ‘journalists’ had gone berserk on PM Modi accusing him of abandoning the ex-navy officers to rot in Qatari jails. However, since the Modi government unlike the expectations of the anti-Modi sides pursued the sensitive matter with diplomatic excellence and patience, and now they have lost an issue to target him.
Modi government ensured the release of 8 ex-navy officers from Qatari jail
It is worth noting that the eight former Indian Navy officials were arrested by Qatar on alleged charges of espionage and spying for the Israeli government. The exact charges, however, were not disclosed, and the information about the charges was only based on media reports. In October 2023, all eight ex-Indian Navy officers were awarded a death sentence. The Indian government, however, made consistent efforts to ensure relief to the jailed officers.
As reported earlier, PM Modi’s close friendship with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani, and the behind-the-scenes diplomacy by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval played a vital role in their release from custody. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar handled diplomatic matters, while Ajit Doval served as PM Modi’s advisor.
