India Today journalist Mausami Singh created a massive drama at the Srinagar airport yesterday. While following around opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi to Srinagar, she alleged that police personnel manhandled her at the airport.
Now, this theatric by Mausami Singh is being used by a desperate Pakistan to further their own narrative about Kashmir.
Congrats @mausamii2u! ur victim play propaganda is famous in Pakistan. Job well done. pic.twitter.com/8OtqUFVf3k
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 24, 2019
Pakistan media used the clip by Mausami Singh on India Today to essentially show that India is perpetrating atrocities in Kashmir. This has been a long-standing and usual ploy of Pakistan. It has falsely tried to show that the Indian state uses excessive force in Kashmir.
However, in the video that was posted by India Today, nobody could be seen manhandling Mausami. Srinagar is a defence airport and it is common knowledge that videotaping there is prohibited. When security personnel tried to tell Mausami that, she lost her cool and tried to blame them of manhandling her.
Srinagar’s Sheikh Ul-Alam airport at Srinagar is a defence airport owned by Indian Air Force, and the Airports Authority of India operates a civil enclave at the airport. Another such defence airport is Pune in Maharashtra, where there are instructions issued to passengers to refrain from using their mobile phone’s camera on the airport, failing which the authorities might confiscate their phones. In all defence airports across the country, the passengers are expected to follow a strict set of norms which includes a prohibition on the use of cameras in the airport premises.
Earlier, Pakistan had used videos of opposition leaders including Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to project India’s decision to abrogate Article 370. They had also come out in support of P Chidambaram after he was arrested in the INX Media scam. Pakistan senator had asserted that he was arrested because he had opposed Modi govt’s move to abrogate Article 370 in Kashmir. Moreover, Pakistan panellists had reposed their faith in leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and ‘activist’ Arundhati Roy to further their propaganda in India.
This is not the first time Mausami Singh has been in the news for things other than her reportage. During the run-up to the 2019 general elections, she was caught on camera ‘directing’ Congress workers to appear excited about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Mausami Singh had gone to the extent of shielding Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar who had not only abused and misbehaved with the Republic reporter but she had also prevented a reporter belonging to rival Republic TV from doing his duty. In a viral video, Mausami Singh was seen taking the side of Mani Shankar Aiyar and asking the fellow journalist not to ‘peddle his agenda’ there.
