Congress leader, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, whose political career has been limited to intermittent public appearances during poll campaigns, has now been caught spreading fake news. The Congress from its official Twitter handle tweeted a 2 minute 4-second long video clip of a news channel by the name of ‘Bharat Samachar’.
In this video, several men can be seen beating up a particular man ruthlessly. The reporter can be heard saying that the video is of goons beating up a person who testified against them. Along with this video clip, Congress tried to launch an invective against the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh. It alleged that there is jungle raj (lawlessness) in Uttar Pradesh.
यूपी में हर तरफ सिर चढ़कर बोल रहा है जंगलराज।
कानून का उड़ रहा मखौल, फैल हुआ अजय बिष्ट का राज।।गवाही देने पर निर्ममता से पिटाई का ये वीडियो भाजपा सरकार की नाकामी की गवाही दे रहा है। pic.twitter.com/7nDjHyEPOR
— Congress (@INCIndia) November 6, 2019
The Nehru-Gandhi family dynast, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra picked up the matter from here and tweeted, “In Uttar Pradesh, goons brutally assaulted Dalit brothers for testifying against them. The BJP government is played a mute spectator. Every single day, Dalits and Adivasis are being openly assaulted by goons. Such law-and-order situation and assault on Dalit-Adivasis will not be tolerated.”
उप्र में दबंगों ने गवाही देने के लिए भयावह तरीके से दलित भाइयों की पिटाई कर दी।
भाजपा सरकार मूकदर्शक बनी देख रही है। हर रोज दलित-आदिवासियों पर दबंग-अपराधी खुलेआम हमले कर रहे हैं।
कानून-व्यवस्था का ये हाल और दलित आदिवासियों पर हमला बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जाएगा। https://t.co/C9YcIvHKrj
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) November 6, 2019
In what comes as a huge embarrassment for both the Congress and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Mainpuri Police replied to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from its official Twitter handle, stating, “We deny the above information. The scuffle broke out between two families belonging to the Rajput community. We have registered a case. An investigation is on.” This has exposed how the Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was spreading fake news about the entire clash.
What is particularly objectionable is how the claim of Dalits having been beaten up could have incited tensions and disharmony on caste lines.
उक्त खबर का खण्डन किया जाता है कि झगड़ा राजपूत परिवारों में हुआ था। जिसमें अभियोग पंजीकृत कर विधिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है। #uppagainstfakenews @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/Bl4V6sVwYt
— MAINPURI POLICE (@mainpuripolice) November 6, 2019
In its tweet, the Mainpuri Police also shared a graphic card, which read, “Denial of misleading news: News channels are spreading misleading information that Dalits were brutally thrashed. We are clarifying that both the parties involved in the scuffle belong to Rajput (Thakur) community and the scuffle broke out over the cutting of paddy. We have carried out medical inspection of both parties. As per their written complaints, we have registered a case. Five persons from one side and two from the other side involved in the scuffle have been arrested and sent to prison. Please do no spread fake news.”
From Mainpuri Police’s tweet and the graphic card that it is shared, it is now clear that there is neither a caste angle to the scuffle, nor is it related to testification by any of the parties involved in the clash. The manner in which the Congress General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, therefore, reported the entire event is grossly misleading. As of now, neither the Congress nor Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has come out with an explanation.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra became politically active for the last time when she was appointed the in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls campaign earlier this year. However, the Lok Sabha election results made it clear that she failed disastrously in making an impact in Uttar Pradesh. Now, having been caught spreading fake news does not help the already negligible political popularity that she enjoys in the state.