On Friday (September 23), several posts emerged that claimed that Congress scion Rahul Gandhi had met anti-India activist Amulya Leona Noronha during his ambitious ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’
After tweets on social media, a Whatsapp message also went viral where it was claimed that Rahul Gandhi had met Amulya Leona.
Recently, Rahul Gandhi courted controversy for meeting a Christian pastor, who made derogatory remarks about Bharat Mata and the Hindu community.
Dubbed as ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Congress kickstarted its 3,570-km march from Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 this year. The march will last over 5 months and will cover 12 States before terminating at Srinagar.
Amulya raised ‘pro-Pakistan’ slogan in Bengaluru
In February 2020, Amulya Leona Noronha created a ruckus during a public meeting of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. She raised slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and was attempting to say more but was dragged off the stage by those present.
She was booked under Section 124A (Offence of sedition) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and initially sent to 14 days in judicial custody. Following the incident, Amulya’s father Waji Noronha said he did not approve of his daughter’s activities.
“I had been cautioning her. The government should take action against her,” he added. It also came to light that Amulya was a part of an organised cartel, which worked in unison behind the scenes to endorse the anti-India agenda.
#WATCH Ruckus erupts at the protest rally against CAA&NRC in Bengaluru where AIMIM Chief Asaddudin Owaisi is present. A woman named Amulya at the protest rally says “The difference between Pakistan zinadabad and Hindustan zindabad is…”. pic.twitter.com/FPh5Ccu3HD
— ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2020
Amulya Leona was also part of the group that had heckled journalist Mahesh Vikram Hegde at an airport in January. They had attempted to coerce Hegde into singing “Vande Mataram” and prove his patriotism “for the country”.
Fact-check: Did Rahul Gandhi really meet Amulya Leona Noronha during his Bharat Jodo Yatra?
After the message went viral on social media, OpIndia tried to find the picture that was being claimed was of Rahul Gandhi with anti-India activist Amulya Leone. In the process, we came across posts on Instagram of the girl Rahul Gandhi had actually met.
As it turns out, the picture is actually of one Miva Anreleo, who is a KSU leader.
Taking to Instagram, Miva had 2 days ago posted the picture, saying that it was the happiest day of her life (because she met Rahul Gandhi).
In another post 2 days ago, Miva had also posted a video of the encounter during Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Bharat Jodo Yatra or Bharat Todo Yatra?
While it is not true that Rahul Gandhi met Amulya Leona, who had chanted Pakistan Zindabad during anti-CAA protests, the Bharat Jodo Yatra by the Congress scion has indeed met others who are secessionist and anti-Hindu.
On September 9th, Congress scion Rahul Gandhi met a rabid anti-Hindu pastor, George Ponnaiah, as part of his ambitious mass mobilisation programme ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’ In a video that went viral on social media, Rahul Gandhi was seen learning about Jesus Christ from the pastor. “But, He is not God? Or is he God? Jesus is also God?”
At that point, Father George Ponnaiah intervened and claimed that Jesus is the ‘real God’, unlike ‘Sakthi & other Hindu gods. The rabid Hindu hater said, “He (Jesus Christ) is a real God, revealed as a human person. Not like Sakthi and all.”
Rahul Gandhi, who otherwise claims to be a janeu dhari Brahmin, remained a mute spectator to the direct insinuation by the Christian pastor that the Hindu deities are unreal and imaginary.
Father George Ponnaiah has a history of making secessionist and anti-Hindu statements. On July 18 last year, the controversial pastor insulted Bharat Mata by claiming that She is dirty and can cause scabies. During his public address in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, he mocked BJP candidate MR Gandhi for not wearing footwear out of respect for Mother Earth (Bhumadevi/Bharat Mata). “But we wear shoes. Why? Because the impurities of Bharat Mata should not contaminate us. The Tamil Nadu government has given us free footwear. This bhuma devi is dangerous, you could catch scabies from it,” he brazened it out.
Father George Ponnaiah also issued veiled threats to the Hindu community about the changing demographics of the State. “We are now the majority (in the Kanyakumari district) from 42 per cent we have crossed 62 per cent. Soon we would be 70 per cent. You cannot stop us. I am saying this as a warning to my Hindu brothers.” Following his vitriolic speech, about 330 representatives from various Hindu organisations filed complaints with the police in various districts of the state. On July 21, 2021, Fr George Ponnaiah was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different religious groups), 295A (outraging feelings by insulting religious beliefs), 505-2 (statements promoting enmity between classes), 506-1 (criminal intimidation).
Rahul Gandhi had also recently held the hand of a young girl, no more than 12-13 years of age, wearing the hijab amidst growing protests against the veil all across the globe. The image of Rahul Gandhi with a minor girl in burkha was shared on the Twitter handle of Congress, implying how Rahul Gandhi was acceptable of the attire that has been used as an instrument of repression by the Muslim fundamentalists.
