Four years after her death in an ‘accident’, AAP activist Santosh Koli’s death remains a mystery. In a series of tweets today, which happens to be her death anniversary, AAP rebel leader Kapil Mishra questioned Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s silence on Santosh Koli’s death:
क्यों सर @ArvindKejriwal , शहीद संतोष कोली के लिए एक ट्वीट भी नहीं आज ? क्या नहीं किया उस परिवार ने आपके लिए। आपका यह व्यवहार संदेहजनक है।
Koli, who was one of the first employees of Paritvartan, an NGO started by Arvind Kejriwal back in 2002 when he was still a civil servant, and also worked with Public Cause Research Foundation, another NGO founded by Kejriwal, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and left-leaning journalist Abhinandan Sekhri, died after she was fatally injured in a road accident on 7th August, 2013. Her family and a lot of AAP members suspect that she might have been murdered.
In the video clip released over a month back by Mishra, and shared again today, Koli’s mother can be seen holding placards accusing Kejriwal and other AAP leaders of covering up Koli’s murder as accident:
In the video, her mother says that Santosh “knew” of something (possibly incriminating) about Kejriwal, because of which they were not talking properly.
She further says, in the video, that the day she died, she did not wish to go to office, but was forcibly taken to office. That some Vandana and Kuldeep took her to office, not on Santosh’s scooty, but on Kuldeep’s bike. This bike was burnt (in the accident that took Santosh’s life). Never seen such accident where the bike gets burnt to ashes, driver escapes uninjured and there are no witnesses. Everyone claimed Santosh was killed. Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai promised probe in the murder. A lot of money was collected in name of Santosh’s treatment (before she died in hospital), but no details are available about where the money went.
She further accuses that the family has been kept away from the FIR details (filed by AAP leader Dr. Kumar Vishwas) and even their statement hasn’t been recorded. She shockingly claims that Kejriwal had told her not to take Santosh’s name ever again in front of him. He allegedly even denied any probe into the murder.
As has happened with most of the issues raised by Kapil Mishra, this one too has not been responded by Kejriwal. At the time of filing this report, Kejriwal had tweeted about the Chandigarh stalking case, but he had not tweeted or re-tweeted anything about Santosh Koli.
AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, though, tweeted in remembrance of Koli:
On Rakhi, remembering social crusader sister Santosh, who left us on this date in 2013. The spark u left, lives in hearts of true warriors.?
Even after four years of her death, there are still no updates about the case where Dr. Vishwas is the complainant.
Considering Koli was such a close aide of Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, having been associated with them for years, it comes as a surprise that they are not demanding a faster inquiry or a CBI probe into the matter.
In a clear message to affix accountability among the top bureaucrats in the country, the Modi government has served compulsory retirement to two IPS officers belonging to the Chhattisgarh cadre on charges of inefficiency.
According to the report, this action was taken against AM Juri and KC Agarwal in public interest. Juri currently is the assistant IG (planning and provisioning), while Agarwal is with the police telecommunication department. They were scheduled to retire in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
This action has been taken on the basis of All India Service Rule 16(3) which states that the central government in consultation with the state government can retire an officer in public interest after serving them notice.
Such a performance review of IAS, IPS and IFoS officers takes place when they complete 15 and 25 years of service.
This isn’t the only time the Modi government has taken action against senior government employees who have been accused of inefficiency or those with a doubtful integrity:
In January it was reported that 2 other IPS officers were also sacked by the Modi government for non-performance. The IPC officers named Raj Kumar Dewangan of Chhattisgarh cadre and Mayank Sheel Chohan of Union Territories cadre were given premature retirement by the Home Ministry after it was found that their services were no longer useful for general administration.
In May MOS in the PMO’s office Jitendra Singh had stated in a press conference that the government had in the past few months had given early retirement to as many as 129 officers for non-performance based on their review of service records. This action was based on the review of 24,000 Group A and 42,251 Group B officers which the central government had conducted. He also had stated that a similar review was underway of further 34,451 Group A and 42,521 Group B officers.
A similar cut in workforce was witnessed in December 2015, when it was revealed that the Modi government had so far dismissed 13 officers and imposed pension cut on 45 others for unsatisfactory performance and delivery in public service. The government had then taken the decision to remove the “Deadwood” in order to make the bureaucracy performance oriented and more accountable.
On Sunday, the famous Infotainment magazine National Geographic put out a story about the iconic Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai. The story detailed the artistic masterpiece of the temple which includes thousands of vibrantly painted stone statues which depict animals, gods, and demons.
These statues are lined up on walls of 14 towers of the temple, one of which is 170 feet high. The temple also has a wall of pillars which have a carved sculpture on each column. The story also detailed the history of the temple which included its demolition in the 14th century by Muslim invaders. The magnificent temple was then rebuilt about 250 years later.
The story like any other Nat Geo article was intricately filled with a variety of information but all this was dampened by an almost silly gaffe.
The story about the temple which is dedicated to goddess Meenakshi claimed that it was one of the few religious monuments which are devoted to a female deity:
This temple is one of the few religious monuments in India devoted to a female deity https://t.co/V0BUh1Bijx
This statement pricked a lot of people as they pointed out that there are almost innumerable temples in India which are dedicated to Indian goddesses. Here are a few such reactions:
Hundreds of prominent temples devoted to female deities. Minor temples with female deities would go in thousands if not more than a lakh https://t.co/7cjvD4nyjr
Ignorance of the west towards India and hindu culture is staggering. Embarassing. Atleast a little research wld help you with the real scene https://t.co/UZbBAe0lHZ
One of the few? Seriously @NatGeo ? EVERY little village in India has a temple for the Gram Devi in addition to countless other Devi temples https://t.co/C9CHV0V4fA
One user even created a thread to list out a ‘few’ such temples:
Hi twitter pals, let’s share images of temples dedicated to female deities. Here is one from my home town Kolhapur. Mahalaxmi Mandir. pic.twitter.com/EWLQ8giA38
For the first time in 13 years, Rajasthan High Court held a hearing on Saturday, 5th August, on a petition filed by 73 year old woman Dhai Bheel and her relatives. Dhai Bheel and her relatives are Pakistani Hindus who had come to India on short term visa
The special bench of single judge Justice Vijay Bishnoi issued notice to Union Home and External Affairs Ministries as well as various state government authorities. The court also directed Additional Advocate General K.L. Thakur to immediately communicate this order to concerned authorities. However, before the order could be executed, the Thar Express, the train by which Dhai and others were deported, had entered the Pakistani territory.
Dhai Bheel and her relatives are Pakistani Hindus and did not wish to go back to Pakistan. Hence, they had applied for visa extension. CID officers gave them an ultimatum to go back to Pakistan. On Saturday, Rajashtan High Court gave clear orders that the Pakistani Hindus should not be deported.
The Pakistani Hindus had reached Munabao Railway Station, which is a railway transit point on the India-Pakistan border, when the hearing was on. By the time the order reached the concerned officers, the train was on its way to Khokhrapar station in Pakistan.
Pakistani citizens Dhai and her husband Chandu Bheel, 80 along with their sons Bhagwan, 34, daughter-in-law Radha, 35, grandchild Dharmi, 9 and other relatives Dheero, 34, his wife Mumal, 32, their son Jayram, 4 and daughter Kawita, 2 had come to India on May 20. Their visa expired in the month of June, but they didn’t go back.
They say he used to buy a packet of milk and a few biscuits on his way home. He had two little boys waiting for him, growing up fast, as they do in these days but years away from puberty. This was a nightly treat, or the morning snack before school. A packet of milk and a few biscuits. On a mason’s salary, it was all he could afford.
The rustle of the plastic, the dimming of the head lights as he pulled up outside his house, the squeal of the tires, if it had rained, enough to alert the young ones that ‘Acha’ was home.
That night he finished the evening shakha, the cool breeze of the night soothing away his cares and fatigue as he made his way home at the end of a long day. The thoughts running through his mind… what could they have been?
Maybe the biscuits that had to be bought and the last packet of milk that the shopkeeper saved for him. Maybe he would have to work longer hours to replace the necklace he had taken from his wife and sold, so they could contribute to the welfare fund for murdered swayamsevaks in Kannur. There was still time, he was only 34, she younger.
Rajesh bought the milk in the evenings, unlike others who bought it at the start of the day. But then he was different. And this was a small colony in a big city, indulgent of the quirks of its residents.
The evening shakha he had just finished was an escape from the identity that society pressed on him, there they were known by first names alone. It was the way of the Sangh. He had taken his little boy to a gathering once, the little one holding on to his finger, two images in ordinary wooden frames, Dr Hedgewar and Guruji Gowalkar sat on a makeshift table, and the little boy danced in front of them.
It was somewhere out in the open, a garden maybe, bereft of tall walls, of the physical kind and those that human beings construct around themselves. He had taken a photograph of his little boy at that moment, free and unselfconscious, as he had never been at that age and posted it on Facebook, “I am proud that my son belongs to the RSS” he had written above that image.
They say the shopkeeper fainted. They say the hand that held the packet of biscuits and milk was chopped off first. They say it fell to the ground, away from his body. They don’t say if that hand was still holding on to the packet his boys were waiting for at home.
They say he received 89 cuts to his body. They say it is a new record; the last murder at this scale of brutality had set the previous record at 51 cuts.
Rajesh was always meant to be different.
They say he is dead… and yet he lives on.
Rajesh Edavakode (1983-2017). om shanti.
(Editor’s Note: Rajesh Edavakode was hacked to death by suspected communists on July 29 in Kerala. He was among the fourteen RSS worker killed in nearly as many months, ever since the communists came back to power in the state. Advaita Kala has been one of those relentlessly pursuing this string of killings and bringing those under focus, as the mainstream media largely has been apathetic to the killings earlier. Here, she pens her thoughts about Rajesh. A tribute to the departed)
On the intervening night of Friday and Saturday Vikas Barala (23), who is the son of Haryana BJP Chief Subhash Barala, was arrested along with his friend in connection with a stalking case.
The 29 year old victim, who is a DJ in Chandigarh, later put up her account of the event on Facebook which soon went viral. She claimed how a White SUV which has now been identified as Tata Safari Storm started following her car at about 12:15 AM while she was driving home. She claimed that both the boys were drunk and were trying to dangerously swerve their car towards her.
She further claimed that, they blocked her car when she tried to turn right into a more safer road. Then that at the next intersection they stopped their SUV in front of her car and one of the boys got out of the car and started walking towards her, forcing her to reverse her car.
Now completely in panic she dialled 100 and the policeman as she claims sensed the urgency in her voice and promised immediate help. The boys allegedly continued their stalking and decided to take things to the next level. After again blocking her car which left absolutely no room to manoeuvre, one of them again got down and tried to open her car’s door.
Then she claimed that a PCR van timely arrived and the cops nabbed the 2 boys. After driving home in absolute fear she told her father (a senior IAS officer) about her ordeal and they later filed their. She in her post also thanked the Chandigarh police for their timely response.
The reports claimed that after the boys were arrested, they were taken for a medical examination which concluded that they were indeed drunk. Sections of 354-D and 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act (drunk driving) were slapped against them and they were later released on bail.
Now latest reports regarding the matter have suggested that certain charges which were later slapped on the accused, ended up getting dropped in order to facilitate their bail. According to the report, the police had added section 341, 365 and 511 against the accused which pertained to wrongful restraint, kidnapping and punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment respectively.
The report claimed that as the added sections were non-bailable, the police did not have the power to grant the bail and release the accused. The report also insinuated that there was an attempt to dilute the case, considering the influential background of the accused. Other reports claimed that the victim’s plea about it being an attempted kidnapping was ignored by the cops.
The police in their defence have claimed that they are taking a legal opinion regarding the matter.
Now further questions might be raised about the authorities in Chandigarh after it was reported that CCTV footage from 5 locations connected to the stalking incident are missing. These footage would reportedly have been crucial regarding the case.
The response of the Haryana BJP has been cagey. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday dissociated BJP Chief Subhash Barala from the incident by stating that he had nothing to with it. After terming it as an individual matter, he further stated that the accused would face action if found guilty. Barala himself has reportedly come out to state that he respects the law and that the “truth” will come out.
This incident has generated outrage on Social Media and people are demanding strict action against the accused:
Son of Haryana BJP chief arrested & got bail within few hours. I didn’t even return from work in that time. When Subhash Barala will Resign?
Swamy, while speaking to Republic TV also supported the girl by stating that she had a right to dignity and that it was not good to raise questions about her character or behaviour.
Update: According to the Chandigarh police, they had tried to acquire the CCTV footage from 9 cameras along the route but all were found to be non-functional. These non-working cameras, not some kind of cover-up, appear to be the reason for the ”missing footage”.
Communal tensions in West Bengal owing to activities of emboldened Islamists are now well known. The latest example of this menace was Basirhat riots last month, where a Facebook post by a minor was found too provocative by Islamists, who indulged in widespread arson and violence leading to death of at least one person.
The incident made it to the national media too, though there was attempt to paint the violence as some ‘natural reaction’ to the ‘grave provocation’. It also resulted in lot of political heat with the BJP taking on Trinamool Congress, which is in power in West Bengal.
While everyone was busy in either scoring ideological or political points, hardly any thought was spared for the minor who was not only facing threat to his life, but was even wronged by the state, which arrested him and treated him as an adult criminal.
However, the 17 years old boy was not left entirely alone to fight out this legal battle. A local outfit named Hindu Samhati decided to help him, and recently it was revealed that the organisation could obtain a juvenile status for the boy, who would now be sent to a juvenile correction home and not be kept along with grown up criminals in a jail.
Prasun Maitra, Hindu Samhati activist.
OpIndia.com talked to Prasun Maitra, a Kolkata based Hindu Samhati activist, advisor and member of State committee. Here are the highlights of the interview:
Q1. Can you tell us a little about the minor? Obviously, we can’t disclose his identity, but something related to his family and the problems they had to face after the alleged Facebook post was created by him?
The boy belongs to a poor family. He had lost his mother early in his age. He used to live in the house of his elder uncle, who resides nearby. After his, alleged, post on Facebook, his house and that of his uncle was under attack of violent jihadi mob, who set other houses and properties on fire too. Absolute rampage went on for hours that day, which only spread to nearby areas in the following days.
Q2. Was Hindu Samhati approached by the family or friends of the minor seeking help, or your organisation decided to take suo moto action?
Family of the boy approached us through our Vice President, Adv. Brojendranath Roy, and they were accompanied by some local youths.
Q3. When did you or the organisation discover that the boy was underage and the police had erred by treating him as an adult?
Once we came to know that the boy appeared for the 10th exam a while ago, we were sure that he was a minor. Further, documents like birth certificate, Admit Card, etc. which were provided by his family, substantiated our assumption.
The birth certificate of the boy who was arrested as an adult by the West Bengal police
Q4. Do you think police erred or it was deliberate? If deliberate, what did they try to achieve by this step?
Yes, it was deliberate act by police to frame him and that’s why police didn’t mention his age in the FIR (copy). In fact, the whole thing was so shoddily done that they haven’t even bothered to mention age of even the complainant in the FIR. They were in a hurry to arrest him basically and not bothered about age.
The boy was arrested and put along with adult criminals in jail
Essentially the West Bengal Police, who were helpless to counter violent jihadi mob throughout the area, found the Hindu juvenile as soft target. And this pattern of police is very common. They fail to act against jihadis due to political and departmental pressure, so they resort to targeting Hindus.
It happened in Tehatta, Howrah where school children were deprived of their right to observe Saraswati Puja in school, it happened in Nandigram, Purba Medinipur where Muslim students ransacked school in their demand for special leave for Friday namaz and change of direction of toilets that faced west.
The list is very long but the bottom line is same. Hindus should compromise to jihadi demands, else face legal consequences.
Q5. How long and challenging was the legal battle? What kind of problems Hindu Samhati or the minor had to face during this?
We made our first attempt in the court on 20th July, 2017 and demanded juvenile status for the boy who was charged with 295-A of IPC along with 66 E/67 of IT Act. The Hon’ble judge of Basirhat ACJM court asked for some time to verify the documents and also asked the IO (Investigating Officer) to submit his report by 3rd August.
On 3rd, police failed to submit the report and the court strongly admonished them. They were asked to submit the report within 2 days i.e. by 5th August. On 5th August, when the matter was taken for hearing, police acknowledged that the documents submitted by legal team of Hindu Samhati were real.
But to deny the boy of his constitutional right, police brought Special Public Prosecutor from Kolkata. They were not willing to let the boy go, perhaps to keep the Islamists happy who demanded death penalty for him.
But all their misadventure went in vain as the Hon’ble judge relied on the documents presented by us, and passed an order to move the boy to a juvenile home.
We had also made an appeal to the National Child Right Protection Commission to ensure right of the juvenile, and the commission had issued a letter to the DM regarding the same.
Letter issued by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
Q6. What happens now? The boy will be shifted to a juvenile correction home and await verdict? How long he might have to be there given the charges slapped on him?
It depends. The situation in his village is not welcoming for him. So, for his own safety and security, he should stay in the juvenile home for some time. Once the situation becomes normal, we’ll consider getting him released and take back to his own house. But if that still remain risky, we’ll explore other alternative arrangements.
Q7. How is the boy’s current mental status? Is he still under stress? How does he feel about entire episode?
He is shocked and why not, he is merely 17 years of age. It’ll take some time to recover from it. Earlier, Sujan Mukherjee of Ilambazar, Birbhum went through such traumatic situation when thousands of Muslims attacked his house for a Facebook post. Trauma inflicted by Islamists is appearing to be the new normal in Bengal these days.
Q8. Many media organisations carried the photo and name of the boy while reporting about Basirhat riots. This was clear violation of the law as one is supposed to hide the identity of a juvenile. Now that the court has accepted that the boy is a minor, do you plan to take some media organisation to task?
Although the media is biased in India, I will still give them benefit of doubt. Perhaps they were not aware of his juvenile status as even the state police didn’t treat him like that. I would like to believe there were no ill intention involved in that. Now, once the court has accepted his juvenile status, if somebody does it now, we’ll definitely take it seriously if that is brought to our notice.
Q9. Did Hindu Samhati receive any support – legal or financial or even moral – from any other group, especially BJP or the RSS?
No, an emphatic NO! On the contrary, Union Minister and BJP leader Mr. Babul Supriyo clearly said during a TV debate on Republic TV that the boy should be punished and example be set. I wonder, if Mr. Supriyo made any such statement when Md. Afroz, accused of rape and murder of Jyoti (Nirbhaya) got away with juvenile status. I fail to understand how can a responsible minister like Mr. Babul Supriyo can demand punishment for a juvenile even before trial. Does he also believe in Sharia law where the juvenile has to be punished for blasphemy?
Such posters were put up by Islamists in Basirhat, demanding death penalty for the boy as per Sharia laws.
Q10. Do you think BJP tries to present a ‘moderate’ or ‘secular’ image in the West Bengal? What is the reason in your view?
RSS is reportedly trying to reach out to Muslim youth through postcards having poems and messages on nationalism through some Muslim organisations. The stated objective is also to clarify matters related to communalism and powers that divide.
In West Bengal, both the RSS and BJP consider Hindus as their natural voters. They believe, or take for granted that Hindus will automatically slide towards them due to their resentment against Mamata and her extreme Muslim appeasement policy. That is why they do not feel any urge to support Hindus. Instead they go for the Muslim vote bank as it will be additional bonanza for them. This is the reason RSS is sending postcards to Muslims to change their mindset.
On the other hand, BJP indulges in taking out rallies to demand justice for alleged victims who belong to the Muslim community. Look at this rally organised to demand justice for Rizwanur Rahman, who was accused of love jihad and allegedly killed by his father-in-law, and for another guy named Amirul Islam who had immolated himself after another Muslim had accused him of criminal acts. Did the BJP take out any rally to demand justice for the Basirhat boy?
BJP in Kolkata taking out a rally demanding justice for Rizwanur Rahman and Amirul Islam
Q11. Some commentators have claimed that West Bengal is inherently ‘secular’ and believes in ‘composite culture’ and thus political success may not come to BJP if they take on hard-line approach? What is your reaction to such arguments?
I really don’t know what is hard-line or what is soft. What I realize that Hindus never attack Muslims out of their own. It is not in their DNA. What Hindus do, is only for self-defence or at worst in retaliation, because the police and government don’t act. If those commentators feel that surrendering to unjust jihadi demand is soft-line and raising voice for own existence is a hard one, I would always stand for that hard line. It is a question about safety and security of our future generations as well. We just can’t leave them in a Sharia ruled state.
Q12. How does Hindu Samhati see the West Bengal society? What do you think are the biggest challenges?
Hindus in Bengal have never been short of courageous fighters. What they actually lack is courageous leadership. We have enough fighting forces in our society, mostly from, so-called backward classes, who are ready to fight against jihadi atrocities. What we need is to give them support – legal, financial, moral, medical.
Thousands of Hindu Samhati activists are fighting against Islamic aggression in different parts of the state. Last year, we have successfully started Durga Puja in Kanglapahari village in Birbhum, which was stopped for decades due to jihadi pressure. Hindus need to fight to preserve their identity and culture that is increasingly under attack from jihadis and a complicit government.
Q13. In the usual left-liberal narrative, Hindu Samhati will be identified as “fringe organisation”. But how big is the organisation and its support base? Any plans to expand outside West Bengal?
We already have started our activities in Assam and Jharkhand. Left calls us “fringe organisation” as our work is exposing their hypocrisy. We believe that Mamata Banerjee is inheriting this hypocrisy of the Left, but we are determined to turn the table in the years to come.
This year, more than 100,000 people joined our Foundation Day rally at Kolkata on 14th February this year and that was alarming for every political party who takes Hindus for granted.
Q14. Any plans to join active politics and fight elections?
Even though we are getting huge number of appeal from all quarters to start a political party, but we have not decided it yet. But we are free to accept any idea for empowerment of Hindus.
We would like to reiterate that Hindu Samhati is an apolitical organization and works for uniting Hindus irrespective of their political inclination. We don’t believe any single party can be termed as Hindu party right now. So, our target is to capture Hindus scattered in different parties and motivate them to work for safety and security of Hindus and resist Islamic aggression.
As many as seven gau rakshaks were injured when a mob of about 50 people assaulted them in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. According to reports, around 50 people attacked and beat up gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes) after they reportedly stopped a tempo suspected of illegally transporting cows to a slaughterhouse. Police has reported a case of attempted murder.
The tempo owner, Wahid Shaikh, and driver Raju Fatrubhai Shaikh, have been arrested under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act.
Police Inspector Bajirao Powar of Shreegonda police station said that around 11:30 am on Saturday, gau rakshaks chased down a tempo suspected of transporting cows for illegal slaughter. Once the tempo was stopped, the gau rakshaks went to the police station to follow due legal procedure. At least two cows and ten oxen were rescued from the traders.
However, later in the evening when the gau rakshaks stepped out, a mob, including the owner and driver of the tempo and local butchers, attacked them to take revenge.
The gau rakshaks belong to a Pune based group called the Akhil Bhartiya Krushi Gau Seva Sangh. One Shivshankar Rajendra Swami, who claims to be ‘honorary animal welfare officer’ said that a team of 12 had come to Shrigonda taluka to keep a watch for vehicles illegally transporting cows to an animal market that is held in Kashti village every Saturday.
As per the FIR, about 30 persons are booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 395 (dacoity) and other sections of the IPC. Seven persons were injured in the incident. Investigation has been initiated to confirm the sequence of events and arrest the assailants.
Press Trust of India (PTI), India’s “premier” news agency, has lately been in the news rather than reporting news, and worse, it has been in the news for wrong reasons.
Late last month, PTI was slammed by social media users and the Information & Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, when it was found that PTI had used old pictures from the 2015 Chennai floods, to portray the recent floods in Ahmedabad. The minister asked PTI to immediately correct itself and demanded an explanation from the people concerned.
Earlier, PTI had spread fake news about Manohar Parrikar, the then Defence Minister, planning surgical strikes against Pakistan because he supposedly felt “insulted” by a journalist question. The news agency, whose reports are repeated without fact-check by various media outlets, had also spread fake news about Yogi Adityanath’s government slashing education budget drastically.
And just a few days ago, PTI was caught peddling fake news yet again, when it claimed that the Government had now made Aadhar mandatory for registration of death with effect from October 1, 2017. This time, along with social media users, it was the Press Information Bureau, which pointed out that PTI had got it’s story incorrect:
The @PTI_News story is totally incorrect. They have since revised it. See the correct version on PIB website :https://t.co/43pXC4xkiX
Today, PTI was in the line of fire for the following tweet, where they used a strange image for a news update:
While the tweet in itself had no fake news, the choice of picture along with it was a bit bizarre. Out of all the stock pictures of Modi or Nitish Kumar, PTI chose to use the above picture for some unknown reason.
A case can surely be made as to why a news agency had to use an image which would seem mocking a particular group of leaders, when it could just send an update.
Social media users as well as Minister Smriti Irani asked explanations from PTI for their usage of the particular picture:
Apparently, PTI felt the need to depict Friendship day hence had to use photos with masks, and not the hundreds of pictures of Modi and Nitish Kumar, talking jovially to each other!
PTI then also apologised for “hurting sentiments”, even though the issue was about using an unusual picture without context:
PTI apologises for hurting sentiments and therefore has withdrawn the picture. @smritiirani
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsThis apology by PTI for “hurting sentiments” could well be the clarion call to sympathetic left-leaning media outlets to portray Smriti Irani as one from the “intolerant” lot. One can very well remember the vile attacks from the press she was subjected to during her tenure as the HRD minister, and if that is something to go by, one cane easily foresee some more attacks soon.
In a volley of tweets early today, Delhi MLA Kapil Mishra raised questions about AAP MLA from Chandni Chowk Alka Lamba’s stand on China. On 6th August, Alka Lamba shared an article by Pakistan’s think-tank and independent research website, Centre for Research & Security Studies which suggested Bhutan had denied requesting India for help in relation to the Doklam stand-off
Kapil Mishra, estranged AAP MLA was quick to question why was Lamba supporting China’s stand instead of India?
अलका ये क्या कर रहे हो? CHINA के सेना के अधिकारी के लेख को दिखा कर अपने देश को गलत साबित करने में लगे हो। क्यों? ये देश के साथ धोखा है। 1/2 https://t.co/qz2VrSsZJj
He even questioned Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal why ws he silent while Lamba endorsed China’s stand. He compared his silence to treachery.
In this open letter, Mishra questioned the number of times Lamba visited China in last five years. He also questioned Kejriwal as to why he isn’t stopping “China sponsored propaganda” on social media. In the open letter he also questioned Kejriwal about Ashish Khetan’s China visits as well.
He put up 2 questions to Arvind Kejriwal:
1. अलका लांबा और आशीष खेतान पिछले 5 सालों में कितनी बार china की यात्रा पर गए??? @ArvindKejriwal
To which, Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba had a emoji filled reply.
BJP के 4MLAs के दम पर CM की कुर्सी का सपना देखने वाले मेरे भाई,प्रश्न तो दूर की बात “?” ही दिखा दे?,किससे प्रश्न किया वो दिखा दे?.
बोखलाहट? https://t.co/systrwBfPt
