New Delhi: Amid the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of the deadly coronavirus, there have been many appeals and warnings by the authorities not to spread fake news through social media. But these seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, because false, unproven claims are still going viral.
The latest such claim is that former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attempted to break curfew and “visit friends” before they were stopped by the police.
https://twitter.com/dee_sha1/status/1246493589716127744
Alternate versions of the post — which are going viral on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and YouTube — shame the Gandhis for being irresponsible at a time like this. The posts have been shared over 400 times on Twitter alone.
Prince (Pappu) n Princess(VADRA Madam) of GOP on leisure drive during section 144 imposed in the capital. How irresponsible, is someone going to drill some sense into their lobes. Its emergency matter of life n death n not time for fun n frolic. pic.twitter.com/lC1eAQfWbd
— MAJOR SUBRAT MISHRA,SM ???????????? (@SUBRATSMSM) April 3, 2020
Look whose violating Sec 144, while preaching to everyone else in the world ?#DelhiCoronaScare #pappu pic.twitter.com/iSo1cr6ybd
— Yana Mir یانا میر (@MirYanaSY) April 4, 2020
Also read: Viral images of money on the street has nothing to do with Italy or coronavirus
Video is from December 2019
The video, however, is nearly four months old. It was shot in December 2019, when the Gandhi siblings were on their way to meet those killed in the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests, and were stopped by the Uttar Pradesh police at Meerut and forced to go back to Delhi.
While the viral posts now make it seem that the Congress leaders are defying the Narendra Modi government’s orders to stay at home and maintain social distancing, the bystanders can be seen wearing sweaters and jackets more suited to winter in northern India.
PM Modi announced the 21-day lockdown on 24 March, to be implemented from midnight that day. Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter on 29 March to express his “complete support” for the PM, but voiced some reservations about the lockdown’s implementation, which hit the poor hardest.
Earlier today I wrote a letter to the PM on the Coronavirus crisis. While I’ve offered him my complete support in dealing with this extraordinary situation, I’ve also shared some of my concerns about the ongoing lockdown. My letter is forwarded with this tweet https://t.co/CjxLnFJTM5
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 29, 2020
When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a relief package for the poor on 26 March, Gandhi had said it was “a step in the right direction”.
The Govt announcement today of a financial assistance package, is the first step in the right direction. India owes a debt to its farmers, daily wage earners, labourers, women & the elderly who are bearing the brunt of the ongoing lockdown.#Corona
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 26, 2020
In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer.
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