On April 27, many left-leaning media houses, including The Wire, The Scroll, The Week, and others, quoted Indian Medical Association’s National Vice President Dr. Navjot Singh Dahiya and called PM Modi a ‘super spreader’ of Covid-19. The quote of Dr Dahiya was based on an April 25 interview in the Times of India.
What did Dr Dahiya say?
In his interview, Dr Dahiya held Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for spreading the second wave of Covid-19. He blamed him for organizing big political rallies in poll-bound states and allowing Kumbh Mela in such a difficult situation. He said, “While the medical fraternity is trying hard to make people understand mandatory Covid norms, PM Modi did not hesitate to address the big political rallies tossing all Covid norms in the air.”
He further added that the scarcity of medical oxygen that has become the reason for the death of many patients is because of the delay caused by the Union Government for clearance of installing several projects. “Despite the severity of the health crisis, election rallies and religious congregations like the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar continued, raising questions over the seriousness of Modi-led Union Government to tackle the spread of the deadly virus,” he added.
He also blamed PM Modi for the farmers’ agitation over farm laws and claimed he did not act responsibly. “[He] let the presence of a huge gathering of farmers allowed without solving their issues, causing a serious threat of Covid spread,” Dr. Dahiya said.
The introduction of Dr. Dahiya that everyone missed
While every news agency ran to quote Dr. Dahiya and projected him as a wise doctor serving as Vice President of the Indian Medical Association, no one cared to point out his political affiliation. Dr Navjot Singh Dahiya was a member of the People’s Party of Punjab, founded by Manpreet Singh Badal. Political Kida shared a post on Twitter showing Dr. Dahiya’s association with the Congress party.
Propaganda vs Reality pic.twitter.com/1YsUpIRq7Y
— Political Kida (@PoliticalKida) April 29, 2021
He contested elections from Shahkot (Jalandhar) constituency as well. Later, when PPP merged with Congress in 2016. Though Dahiya did not contest the next election from his constituency as Congress fielded Hardev Singh Sharowalia from Shahkot, Dahiya holds the post of a spokesperson at the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) since 2017.
Dahiya’s social media profile boasts his Congress association
We scrolled through his social media profiles on Facebook and found out that he calls himself the spokesperson of PPCC and vice president of IMA.
Records suggest that he was elected VP of IMA in December 2020 for one year tenure.
This is the same period for which the current President, Dr. JA Jayalal, will serve. A few days back, the President also got under scanner on social media platforms for his views on the Covid-19 pandemic as he saw it as an opportunity to convert people to Christianity.
