At a time as sensitive as this, when the entire country is trying to deal with the devastation caused by the raging Covid-19 cases, propagandist Rajdeep Sardesai, best known for spreading fake news, is busy milking the crisis to keep his fading career burgeoning. And, obviously, India Today is hand in gloves with its star journalist in his endeavour to spread his propaganda to achieve his goal.
Today Rajdeep Sardesai shared a report by India Today to peddle misinformation that villagers in Uttarakhand’s Almora district are being forced to cremate the dead in open fields because crematoriums are refusing to accept bodies of Covid victims. Tagging the CM of Uttarakhand, Tirath Singh Rawat, in his Tweet, Rajdeep lamented: “At least show dignity in death @TIRATHSRAWAT ji”.
Interestingly, the India Today report that Rajdeep had shared to peddle his propaganda against the BJP government in Uttarakhand, mentioned: “With no help from the authorities or government, the relatives of Covid-19 victims are cremating the bodies deep in the hills”.
Casting aspersions at the state administration, the India Today report furthered that the cremations are being done by patients only as they receive no support from authorities.
However, other media reports suggest that India Today and its journalist Rajdeep Sardesai have lied blatantly to spread their propaganda against the BJP government in Uttarakhand.
Other media reports negate claims made by Sardesai
A report by news agency ANI clearly specifies that the Almora district administration has set up this new cremation ground in an open field area of Bhainsora, 15 km away from Almora district headquarters, and unlike the lie peddled by Sardesai and his media house, the bodies are being cremated in the Bhainsora farm with the help of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) personnel. In fact, ANI has quoted Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar as confirming that the bodies are being cremated by the State Disaster Response Fund personnel.
The report also negates the claim made by Rajdeep Sardesai that villagers were cremating bodies in the open field because crematoriums are refusing to accept bodies of Covid victims.
The ANI report clearly mentions that the decision to cremate the bodies of Covid victims in Almora’s Bhiansora farm was taken by the administration after villagers refused to cremate the bodies of their family members at the traditional crematoriums in the district.
Moreover, a report by Amar Ujala says that earlier, the district administration was cremating bodies along the banks of the river at Seraghat, Almora. However, the locals residing there raised objections fearing the risk of infection. The administration then set up a new cremation ground at Bhainsora Farm and also developed a new approach route to reach here.
Rajdeep Sardesai’s lie has not come as a surprise, since this is not the first time that the propagandist-in-chief has lied about a critical event to peddle his agenda. Be its the Republic Day insurrection or the Sohrabuddin Encounter Case or his propaganda regarding CAA, Rajdeep has not left a single opportunity to spread lies and fearmonger.
How Rajdeep Sardesai milked the Coronavirus crisis
Rajdeep Sardesai did not even stop peddling his agenda during the Coronavirus crisis. A Medical College in Devanagere, Karnataka had not paid the stipends of its students for 16 months. The propagandist-in-chief proceeded to target Prime Minister Modi’s drive to hail Corona Warriors.
Later, it was discovered that the Medical College in question was owned by a Congress leader and the BJP Government had asked the authorities to pay the students. He had also at one point discussed whether the success of the ‘Bengaluru model’ in combatting the Coronavirus was due to luck, hinting that the BJP Government in the state did not deserve credit for its initiatives.
Rajdeep Sardesai had also claimed that a man had died of starvation at Banda in Bundelkand, Uttar Pradesh. The DM of Banda had to fact-check the propagandist and reveal that the family had received food grains under various schemes free of cost and that the man had died to other reasons.
He had also claimed that Punjab had received only Rs. 71 crore from the central government to fight Covid-19 when, in reality, the state had received hundreds of crores in funding.
