On Friday, Doordarshan (DD) broadcast comments of beneficiary women across the country thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking care of them by transferring Rs 500 to women account holders of Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) during the lockdown period.
DD News has broadcast multiple videos where women have expressed their happiness after they got benefitted from the different schemes of the Modi government.
It is pertinent to note that the Modi government has announced that every PMJDY account holders would be given Rs. 500 for the next three months under the PM Garib Kalyan Package during the coronavirus lockdown in the country.
In one such video, a beneficiary named Kajal, a resident from Himachal Pradesh, thanked PM Modi for providing Rs 500 at a time when there was no livelihood opportunity for her due to the nation-wide lockdown.
Received 500 rupees under Jandhan Yojana. Thankful to PM Modi for the aid.#GareebKalyanForCOVID19 #IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/oNnWiYcn4S
— DD News (@DDNewslive) April 16, 2020
Troll attack on beneficiary for being ‘not so poor’
However, the usual lots of the “liberal-secular” media, trolls took offence to the lady praising Prime Minister Modi. A lot of abuse began on social media as people raised questions on the authenticity of how ‘needy’ the beneficiary really was. The assertions of the elites in the media were that the lady was wearing a good attire and declare that she did not look ‘poor enough’ to be at all a real beneficiary under the scheme.
Vidya Krishnan, a notorious fake news peddler, who has been waging a misinformation war against the country through false reporting on coronavirus crisis, took to Twitter to mock the poor woman after she praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to Vidya Krishnan, the lifestyle of the woman in the video did not depend on Rs 500 given by PM Modi. Krishnan, who claims to be a journalist, seems to have analysed Kajal’s lifestyle within the 30 seconds time frame of the video tweeted by DD News.
Yes DD news, I totally believe this woman’s lifestyle is the kind that depends on Rs 500/- from the prime minister’s fund.
— Vidya (@VidyaKrishnan) April 17, 2020
She probably used that money to buy that lock for her fancy door of her extremely sad looking hut. https://t.co/2860HcRGTI
Rifat Jawaid, an Aam Aadmi Party troll masquerading a journalist, also mocked the beneficiary, claiming that the Doordarshan should have chosen a better actress, who indeed looked poverty-stricken. According to Jawaid, the lady who received Rs 500 in her account was not enough poor.
Dear DD people, you should have chosen a better actress, who indeed looked poverty-stricken to justify the ‘gratitude’ for Rs 500. https://t.co/EUaxsGhSL9
— Rifat Jawaid (@RifatJawaid) April 17, 2020
Meanwhile, Congress trolls also hit the timeline to attack Modi government for indulging in propaganda. Gaurav Pandhi, a Congress party worker alleged the beneficiary to be a BJP worker.
Dear @DDNewslive, stop doing this propaganda for the Govt using BJP workers. Your are a SHAMELESS LAPDOG spreading fake news. Henceforth, DD stands for Dalal Darshan! #पालतू_पत्रकार https://t.co/mYRzujbOZc pic.twitter.com/eqGcYOYMuU
— Gaurav Pandhi (@GauravPandhi) April 17, 2020
Another troll, perhaps from Kazakhstan, who claims to be a co-founder of fake news website Alt News, also mocked at the lady being not so ‘poor’.
Hello @DDNewslive, congratulations of your sting on ‘gareeb kalyan’ through Jan Dhan yojana. https://t.co/STHEQqB37g
— SamSays (@samjawed65) April 17, 2020
Why cannot poor and Dalits dress properly: PM Garib Kalyan beneficiary
After being at the receiving end of the hate pushed by the elite liberals, on Saturday, Kajal – the beneficiary of PM Garib Kalyan package, responded to the claims made by the trolls. In a video message, Kajal lambasted the beneficiary-shamers by asking them why cannot poor and Dalits dress properly or live in a good house.
Kajal, hitting out at those who mocked at her for not looking “poor enough”, stated that she worked in a beauty parlour and knew the importance of being clean and hygienic all the time. She attacked the liberals and trolls to stop passing vulgar comments on women.
Himachal resident Kajal lambasts beneficiary-shamers. “I want to ask these people, don’t poor & Dalits have right to dress properly? These are backward thinking people,” she said, hitting out at those who mocked her for not looking “poor enough” to avail Jan Dhan Yojana benefits. pic.twitter.com/MUHEuthOVe
— Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) April 18, 2020
The troll attack on a poor woman living in a faraway village depicts everything that is bad about Indian journalism today. The liberals, who consider themselves to be elites in the society, perhaps think that a poor lady living does not qualify to wear good clothes or be residing in a pucca house.
The liberals, who are habituated to availing freebies during UPA days, do not understand the ambitions of a quintessential villager. The “liberal-secular” media are stuck in the socialist era where every non-elite was looked through a ‘deprived’ lens. The aspirational new India has now moved away from these cliched thought process, who have now started a living a life which once they aspired.
