Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks about SFI workers, where he pardoned those vandalizing his office in Kerala’s Wayanad, his Lok Sabha constituency, was an act of foresight that is rare. In a disturbing, but recurring sign of the country’s public space poisoning, his comments were presented by a TV channel as condemning Islamic fundamentalists in Udaipur who brutally assaulted a man who supported blasphemy. was killed by The channel in question and the anchor issued an apology, but only after the malicious act turned out to be an unforgivable scam. BJP leader and former Union Minister – Information and Broadcasting Minister, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, and some other party leaders, who shared the same principled video on social media, felt no compulsion to withdraw their support for fake news. The teased video clip, which has been flagged as ‘out of context’ by Twitter, remains on his timeline. Mr. Gandhi could be seen and heard saying that it was the children who did it, and while this was a mistake, the issue could have been put to rest. The malicious misinterpretation of these words by news channels and BJP leaders is an extremely irresponsible act in a country that is deeply polarized. Congress has written to BJP President JP Nadda asking them to take action against these leaders for spreading fake news and remove the fake videos. BJP has not given any reply.
In the Congress-ruled state of Chhattisgarh, the police have registered an FIR over fake news videos and complaints have been filed in other states as well. A state police team was stopped by police in Uttar Pradesh – a BJP-ruled state – from detaining an accused TV anchor, adding another layer to the controversy. BJP claims to be a strong led party which is serious about internal discipline. If its leaders are not expected to speak outside the party’s official position, the question is whether Mr. Rathore is acting accordingly. If his position is not the BJP’s position, the party should immediately clarify this and consider action against Mr. Rathore and other leaders who are spreading misinformation that may ignite more violence. The fact is that communally provocative statements are an easy route to popularity in the BJP ecosystem, and the party is either helpless or has no capacity to contain the malaise. Channels and anchors by lying have exposed the deep crisis of journalism in the country; As the ruling party at the Centre, the BJP must distance itself from Mr. Rathore’s act.