On Monday (April 26), the official Twitter handle of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi shared a manipulated video to claim that BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi praised the party for supposedly not politicising the ongoing oxygen crisis in the National Capital.
The development comes at a time when the Delhi government is facing public ire over its mishandling of the pandemic. In a video tweeted by AAP Delhi, BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi could be heard as saying, “Yesterday there was a discussion about how the Delhi government is playing politics over the current situation. I said that the Delhi government is not doing politics. Delhi government is helpless.”
Oxygen के मुद्दे पर भाजपा प्रवक्ता ने कबूला सच-
— Aam Aadmi Party Delhi (@AAPDelhi) April 26, 2021
“दिल्ली सरकार राजनीति नहीं कर रही है” pic.twitter.com/ddxKxp1bF7
Furthermore, she was seen ‘admitting’ that 480MT of oxygen supply has not reached the Delhi Government from the Centre. The video was shared by the likes of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan. In a tweet, he said, “Atleast the BJP spokesperson has accepted the truth. In such stressful times, the way BJP is misleading the public is unfortunate. It only displays their lack of empathy.”
कम से कम भाजपा प्रवक्ता ने सच तो क़बूला, इस आपदा की घड़ी में जिस तरह ये लोग जनता को गुमराह करने का काम कर रहे हैं, यह बड़ा दुःखद और संवेदनहीनता का परिचायक है। https://t.co/MFd9sIRp8A
— Amanatullah Khan AAP (@KhanAmanatullah) April 27, 2021
What is the Truth?
We spotted the logo of ABP News in the video clip shared by AAP Delhi. On using specific keywords, we were able to trace the original conversation between ABP News and BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi. She had initially remarked that the Covid crisis must not be politicised under any circumstances.
In her original statement (at around 14:45), she said, “Yesterday there was a discussion about how the Delhi government is playing politics over the current situation. I said that the Delhi government is not doing politics (but is rather incompetent). Delhi government is helpless and weak. They don’t know how to handle the situation. They only know how to shed crocodile tears over it.”
The segment where Aparajita Sarangi slammed the Delhi government for being weak and incompetent to handle the Covid situation in the National Capital was cleverly edited out by the party’s IT Cell. The fact that she accused them of crying over the crisis instead of taking measures to resolve the situation was also shrewdly removed.
BJP leader reveals why 480 MT of oxygen wasn’t made available to the Delhi government
Sarangi had squarely blamed the AAP government for its failure in procuring the oxygen tankers. “I agree that the full quota of 480 MT oxygen did not arrive… I will tell you the reason. Management is the responsibility of the State government. The Centre is responsible for making facilities available for the States, formulating policies and showcasing their intention. And it did. The Central government is standing with all States, including Delhi, in its fight against the pandemic,” she said.
The BJP leader further highlighted the Delhi High Court order, which had slammed the Arvind Kejriwal-led-Delhi government for mismanagement. “The Court has directed the government to bring in cryogenic tankers, communicate with the Transport Ministry and get the oxygen tankers filled,” she added. Aparajita Sarangi expressed her disbelief when she learnt that the Delhi government was yet to constitute a team of 10 IAS officers for monitoring the availability and supply chain of oxygen.
Interestingly, this was a suggestion presented to the Delhi High Court by the advocate of the Delhi government himself. While Arvind Kejriwal’s party is busy editing videos and publishing manipulated media to shrug off its responsibility, the National Capital is under severe distress. As of April 26, Delhi has recorded 94,592 active cases and a total of 14,248 fatalities.
