The Jawaharlal Nehru University yet again emerged as the epicentre of controversy. In a dastardly attack, a group of masked goons were seen beating the JNU students and teachers who have suffered grave injuries and were subsequently admitted to AIIMS. In no time, the leftist ecosystem erupted and concluded the masked goons were from the ABVP. Prominent faces from the opposition like Yogendra Yadav and Priyanka Gandhi made a beeline at the JNU and the so-called journalists amplified the fear-mongering by blaming the ABVP for the violence. One such ‘journalist’ happened to be Barkha Dutt. In an incredible self-goal, Barkha Dutt ended up exposing the Indian National Congress as she shared a screenshot of a WhatsApp group called ‘Unity Against Left’ where the group members can be seen planning to create ruckus in JNU. Dutt was exposed when many Twitter users did a dig and found that the number on the screenshot of the WhatsApp group shared by her belonged to the Indian National Congress.
Barkha Dutt has been at the forefront of the anti-CAA protests as she attempts to relaunch her career at a time when the public has seen through her agenda and increasingly reject her brand of journalism. Her attempt to place the ‘sheroes’ Ladeeda and Renna spectacularly failed as their radical ideologies were exposed. Dutt acting as the mouthpiece of opposition tweeted a screenshot of a WhatsApp group titled ‘Unity against Left’ where the members can be seen planning an attack at the JNU.
This message is from a WhatsApp group called 'Unity Against Left' – I've edited out the group because of privacy laws on showing numbers, but the operative message retained : "main gate par kuch karna hai" against those who "support JNU" #JNUViolence pic.twitter.com/asXyRlfrsK
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) January 5, 2020
Barkha’s screenshot was widely circulated and it gave birth to a plethora of screenshots of WhatsApp groups as the left tried to pin the blame of violence on the ABVP. Little did Barkha know that she will end up putting Congress in the soup. When some Twitter users decided to do a dig and googled the number displayed on Dutt’s screenshot, it showed the number belongs to the Indian National Congress and was used by the party for a crowdfunding campaign.
Lots of whatsapp screenshots are being circulated all over the Facebook claiming that ABVP organised vioIence in JNU. I won't defend anyone. If you want to know the truth, just google the numbers seen in those chats..@AmitShah Do permanent soln of JNU#JNUCampus #LeftAttacksJNU pic.twitter.com/WZv3769aFT
— Hitesh Vinod Rathod (@rhitesh711) January 5, 2020
Barkha Dutt – the most consistent player at spreading panauti 😂🤣#SOSJNU #LeftAttacksJNU pic.twitter.com/PMWj0pYd27
— Vasudha (@WordsSlay) January 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/AjaySengar_/status/1213885292727263232
Barkha inadvertently ended up exposing the INC-JNU nexus and the expose spread like wildfire forcing the Indian National Congress to issue a clarification on Twitter.
The SM team of INC had hired the services of several private vendors to run the crowd funding campaign, for a limited period before Lok Sabha Elections after which it was discontinued. The number belonged to a vendor and has nothing to do with INC.
— Congress (@INCIndia) January 5, 2020
Look how conveniently the Congress shifts the blame to private vendors who were hired to crowdfund their Lok Sabha campaign.
The events that took place in JNU are highly condemnable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice regardless of their political affiliations. But with the presence of ‘journalists’ like Barkha Dutt that is easier said than done. It remains to be seen whether 10 Janpath would forgive Barkha Dutt for exposing them.
