Today the official Twitter handle of the Aam Aadmi Party posted a video showing security personnel throwing stones at some people. The Tweet didn’t give much information about the video clip, but used it to attack prime minister Narendra Modi. They compared the PM with General Dyer, saying that the video shows “General Dyer Modi’s police brutally pelting stones on the citizens in Mayapuri, Delhi”.
Horrifying!!!
General Dyer Modi’s police brutally pelting stones on the citizens in Mayapuri, Delhi. #GeneralDyerModi pic.twitter.com/vIFP3RUb1Y
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) April 13, 2019
Colonel Reginald Dyer was a British military officer during the British rule over India, and he is responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on this day in 1919 in which more than a thousand innocent Indians were shot dead by the British army. General Dyer had ordered firing upon people who had gathered to celebrate the Baishakhi festival. Bringing the General Dyer reference, AAP was insinuating that security forces were attacking innocent people.
But the facts of the matter show that the people being in the in video can’t be compared with Jallianwala Bagh victims, and Aam Aadmi Party used a maliciously edited video to attack the Modi government.
The party used last few seconds from the following video, keeping only the part showing security forces attacking people. But the full video clearly shows that initially the mob had attacked the forces, and the security forces were only retaliating this attack on them.
#WATCH Clash broke out between locals & security forces in Delhi’s Mayapuri area after MCD officials began to seal some factories in the area following National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order to seal nearly 850 factories. pic.twitter.com/sitlqU116Z
— ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019
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According to reports, the incident happened when security forces were sealing illegal scrap factories in Mayapuri in Delhi as per an order by National Green Tribunal. When police along with ITBP and CRPF personnel arrived at the location to seal around 850 illegal factories following the NGT order, they faced resistance from people in the area. Other videos that have emerged from the scene show that people had attacked the security forces to prevent them from sealing the factories.
One video shared on social media shows that one ITBP soldier was surrounded by a mob of more than a dozen people and they were seen beating him. The soldier fell on the ground, and although he had a rifle with him, he didn’t use that.
Facing such an attack, the security forces retaliated and chased away the mob. In the process, few of them picked the stones that were thrown to them and threw back at the mob.
Public led by AAPiyas was abusing & pelting stones on Police, when the police retaliated to save themselves then shameless @ArvindKejriwal cropped the video to attack Modi.
Ye Kejriwal aur kitna niche girega, Modi ko target krne k liye police aur sena pe patthar marwa rha ab ? pic.twitter.com/EoCPG9c1ND
— Scar (@RAC7R) April 13, 2019
AAP’s propaganda in defaming the security forces was assisted by India Today, which said that security forces pelted stones at protesters in its headline while reporting the incident. But in the body of the article, they do mention that security forces were attacked by the mob first.
In the report, it is mentioned that “it can be seen that protesters are pelting stones at the security forces and then being chased down by the personnel who return the stones with bricks and lathicharge.” But they still chose to use a completely misleading headline.
While India Today followed the AAP narrative, few other media houses correctly reported that protesters had attacked the security forces first.
It is very unfortunate that security personnel were compared with General Dyer, who were only following a legal order and they were attacked by people who want to violate the law and continue to run illegal polluting factories in residential areas. Had police taken such action against peaceful protestors, that would be a very condemnable act. But when police forces face violent attacks, they can’t remain mute spectators, and they have every right to defend themselves and take necessary steps to disperse the mob. But instead of helping implementation of a legal order, Aam Aadmi Party is taking the side of lawbreakers.
Earlier NGT had slammed the Delhi government for not taking any action against polluting factories in Mayapuri. NGT had also asked why the Delhi chief secretary and state pollution board officials should be not jailed and prosecuted for failing to implement its order. Given such strict orders from NGT, the administration has no other option than seal the illegal factories.
