Lakshadweep administration on Sunday refuted PTI (Press Trust of India) report that they have mooted proposal to shift jurisdiction from Kerala to Karnataka.
This story by @PTI_News is “baseless and devoid of truth”, says S Asker Ali, Collector, Lakshadweep. https://t.co/bOsgInvJeK
— Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) June 20, 2021
On Sunday, PTI tweeted that following the protests from Lakshadweep residents, the administration had mooted proposal to shift its legal jurisdiction from Kerala High Court to Karnataka High Court. PTI cited ‘officials’ for this statement.
PTI reported that the move came after litigations were moved in Kerala High Court against Praful Patel, the islands’ new administrator. According to the report, as many as 23 applications, including 11 writ petitions, have been filed against Patel and also against the alleged high-handedness of either the police or the local government of the islands.
However, Kanchan Gupta, Senior Adviser, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting of the Government of India, refuted the claims. He cited S Akser Ali, Lakshadweep Collector who said that the PTI story was baseless and devoid of truth.
PTI and history of fake news
News agency PTI has a history of spreading false and misleading news. In April this year, in middle of raging pandemic, PTI claimed 25 people died at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi due to lack of oxygen. In a tweet, PTI said that sources had told them that the cause of death of the 25 ‘sickest’ patient was low pressure oxygen. That claim turned out to be false. Senior doctor at the hospital clarified that no deaths occurred due to lack of oxygen.
Prior to that in August 2020, PTI was caught misquoting Prime Minister Modi on the spread of Chinese coronavirus in India. This misquoted tweet was further used by Congress to spread its lies about PM Modi. After it was called out Congress deleted its misleading tweet.
In October 2020, the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati terminated its arrangement with PTI following its interview with the Chinese Ambassador wherein the news agency was accused of providing a platform for the Chinese to run their propaganda.
