Public broadcaster Prasar Bharti today hit out on the self proclaimed ‘fact-checker’ AltNews for building up a wrong narrative using a video and tweet shared by it to allege that it was spreading fake news.
On January 6, Prasar Bharti tweeted a video of violence breaking out on Jawaharlal Nehru campus.
Video bears witness to #JNU VC @mamidala90‘s statement that those opposing registration for Winter session of #JNU are behind violence to scuttle the academic process of varsity. pic.twitter.com/JWr4n81GbW
— Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) January 6, 2020
In a series of tweets, Prasar Bharti quoted JNU Registrar and said that on 3rd January, a group of students opposing registration process entered Communication and Information Services (CIS) premises covering their faces with masks and forcibly evicted technical staff. A police complaint was lodged regarding the same. On 4th January, the technical staff made the CIS functional again and students started paying the revised room rent.
JNU Registrar: For past few days, group of agitating students closed buildings o some Schools preventing non-agitating students, staff & faculty members. On Jan 5, students who wanted to enter the School buildings were physically prevented from doing so.#JNU
— Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) January 6, 2020
A group of students again created violence and another police complaint was registered. “On Jan 5, students who wanted to enter the School buildings were physically prevented from doing so,” the JNU Registrar told the Prasar Bharti. “Around 4.30 (On 5th January) a group of students against the registration process moved aggressively from admin block to hostels,” the Registrar told the Prasar Bharti.
Throughout, the Prasar Bharti maintained that the violence broke out after agitating students opposed registration process. However, ‘AltNews‘, the dubious platform which likes to plant false narratives when it is not busy ‘fact-checking’ memes, alleged that Prasar Bharti was wrongly blaming the Left goons for violence while the ones involved in violence were associated with ABVP. AltNews conveniently skipped mentioning that the left goons including JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh and others had taken over server rooms against whom an FIR was also lodged.
Instead of focusing on the fact presents by Prasar Bharti that the violence broke out over registration process, AltNews focussed its energy on identifying the ones who are fighting to show that ABVP students indulged in violence.
This falsehood of AltNews was then spread far and wide by the usual suspects.
The broadcaster was called out by @AltNews for spreading false information because the reality turned out to be the opposite of Prasar Bharti’s version. https://t.co/27AmWELgv0
— HuffPost India (@HuffPostIndia) January 7, 2020
#FactCheck: Is this JNU assaulter from the Left, as claimed by state-controlled Prasar Bharti? https://t.co/zbPZTcZ1YM | @AltNews
— scroll.in (@scroll_in) January 8, 2020
Please note here that State controlled Prasar Bharti never mentioned or identified students belonged to a particular party were involved in violence. They had simply stated that violence was initiated by students opposing registration process.
Today, Prasar Bharti released a video recording of two faculty members of JNU who were witness to the above violence.
“A faculty member’s phone was snatched while capturing how we weren’t allowed inside School of Languages. The Phone snatcher was subsequently confronted. We were then abused; our colleague was roughed up,” say #JNU Faculty Members Dr Yogesh Kumar Rai & Dr Nagendra Srinivas pic.twitter.com/ARy9vwvlCL
— Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) January 8, 2020
In the above video, faculty members Dr Yogesh Kumar Rai and Dr Nagendra Srinivas are narrating their eye-witness account. “This video which is viral on social media is from 4th January. We were frustrated that the school has been shut since so many days and we have not been able to go to office. So when some of us were trying to enter office, we were stopped. We were also manhandled. Some made human chain and stopped us and put up obstacles. Someone, we’re not sure if he is a current student or a former one, snatched mobile phone of one of our colleagues. The video you are seeing on social media is outside school of languages,” said a professor.
Another professor said, “I was there present there with other teachers and were were trying to help those students who wanted to register and focus on their education. We also had other meetings. But some students had locked it down. We still entered. But as soon as we entered, we heard some noise outside and came out and saw that one of our colleagues was being manhandled as you can see in this video.”
