New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Ghaziabad MP Gen. V.K. Singh (retd) took to social media Sunday, seeking the district administration’s assistance securing a bed for a Covid-19 patient in his constituency.
The former Army chief’s tweet led many people to question the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh, where a member of the Narendra Modi government is having to launch a social media appeal for assistance in his own constituency. Some even mistook the tweet to be a personal appeal from Singh.
In his tweet, Singh quoted a message where he had been tagged, along with others. “@dm_ghaziabad Please check this out,” he wrote in response to a tweet saying “please help us, my brother needs a bed for corona treatment. Now beds are not being arranged in Ghaziabad. @shalabhmani @PankajSinghBJP @Gen_VKSingh”.
@dm_ghaziabad
Please check this out
प्लीज़ हमारी हेल्प करे मेरे भाई को कोरोना ईलाज के लिए बेड की आवश्यकता है।अभी गाजियाबाद में बेड की व्यवस्था नहीं हो पा रही है। @shalabhmani @PankajSinghBJP @Gen_VKSingh— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) April 18, 2021
Soon afterwards, Shalabh Mani Tripathi, media adviser to Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, took note and asked the Ghaziabad District Magistrate to take a look.
Many Twitter users, meanwhile, posted scathing remarks in response to Singh’s tweet.
“You are the MP of Ghaziabad if you will also have to seek Twitter’s help for yourself then who (sic) will you help the people of Ghaziabad. Call the District Magistrate. They are not active on twitter,” said one user in a tweet that has since been deleted.
Another user added: “imagine the conditions of Ram Rajya”.
Imagine the conditions of Ram rajya
— Aditya Gupta (@researchAditya) April 18, 2021
Shocked !!!
एक सांसद को जो यूनियन मिनिस्टर है को मदद के लिए ट्विटर का सहारा लेना पड़ है!!!#StayHome #StaySafe
— Raj Kishor Pandey (@Rajkishortweets) April 18, 2021
MP of Ghaziabad, Ex Army Chief has to ask for help via twitter itself explains the situation in UP the largest state of India. We hope CM does some work for health sector rather then just changing names of places
— ।। काल्केया।। (@JaiMahishmiti) April 18, 2021
Imagine what poor must be going through when our former Chief and Cabinet Minister is in distress .. hope Gen saab will sensitize his cabinet colleagues and our PM . Feeling bad that I am unable to help our Chief .. god bless your brother and get well soon
— RAKESH VAID (@rakeshvaid) April 18, 2021
ThePrint reached Singh for a comment on this report, but the call was answered by his media representative. The minister is in isolation after a few people he was in contact with at the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways tested positive.
“This tweet is not regarding his family,” said Kuldeep Singh Chauhan, the media representative. “He has not sought help for his family. Someone else required a bed and he tweeted on their behalf.”
Singh offered a similar clarification in a subsequent tweet, where he also lashed out at those who misunderstood his initial post. He deleted his earlier tweet, which quoted the constituent’s plea, and instead retweeted it with a post tagging the DM.
@dm_ghaziabad please check this out https://t.co/7Yupvc4p7h
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) April 18, 2021
Am amazed at IQ level of trawls and fastest finger channels. Tweet was forward of a tweet to DM and says "please look into this". Forwarded tweet is in hindi. Bed needs have been sorted out by DM & CMO , hence to DM. Suggest correct your understanding. https://t.co/BVZyZgQoDG
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) April 18, 2021
Also Read: There’s a need to hold up a mirror to Modi govt on Covid management, and this is the picture
Surge in UP
Uttar Pradesh has announced a state-wide lockdown every Sunday till 15 May to check the spread of Covid-19, which is surging ferociously across India. CM Yogi Adityanath himself tested positive this week.
Uttar Pradesh reported 120 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, its largest one-day toll so far, and 27,357 new cases. The state has recorded 8,21,054 Covid-19 cases so far.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
This report has been updated with additional information
Also Read: Over 2 dozen IAS officers down with Covid, putting strain on already stretched civil service
Still waiting for articles on articles on print from maharastra and chattisgarh
Yet another article about a “tweet” and the reactions it gets on twitter. This portal is degenerating into ndtv.com slowly but surely.
If we wanted to know what’s happening on twitter we’d go to twitter, not visit a news portal for a summary. Hopefully this stops soon and you continue to focus on serious “dehyphenated” journalism as you normally do.
sad state of affairs thanks to kumbha mela. when are we all going to give up our religious fantasies ( all included)?
The print should have enough common sense to differentiate between social media trolling/abuse and social media ire. What did VK Singh do wrong here? How is it wrong to help increase the reach of a Twitter call for help by retweeting and tagging relevant authorities?! The mocking mention of “RamRajya” betrays the Hinduphobia of the leftist trolls. Don’t be blinded by hatred and prejudice against a particular political party or sect.