Left-leaning liberals and intellectuals had a meltdown after the Times of India reported PM Modi’s factual comments against ‘activist’ Medha Patkar after she participated in Congress party’s PR stunt ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
Rohini Mohan, an Indian journalist and writer, who is currently working independently, took to Twitter to object to the Times of India’s report on PM Modi’s remarks against ‘activist’ Medha Patkar.
“I’m sure TOI journalists & editors know that Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar is not an anti-state actor. (for 30yrs NBA works with people displaced by Sardar Sarovar canals, a dam, and a statue of unity there). Why carry PM’s inaccurate, defamatory political statements?” tweeted Mohan, implying that TOI must stop being a news organisation that reported incidents as they happened and counter the factual statements made by politicians with their partisan opinions.
Mohan found support from her ilk, who rushed to the Times of India’s Twitter timeline to condemn the organisation for publishing a report that carried statements made by the Prime Minister.
Lending his support to Mohan’s misbegotten outrage, a Twitter user named Uttam Sengupta tweeted that he had banned reporting on VHP when he was in TOI Lucknow, an illustration of how personal prejudices shaped the newsroom policies that claimed to be neutral and objective.
Uttam Sengupta is currently employed with Congress mouthpiece National Herald as a Consulting Editor. He worked for the Times of India in various capacities for over 12 years, from February 1991 to May 2003. During his time at the TOI, Sengupta worked as Resident Editor for the organisation for two and a half years. After leaving TOI, he hopped on to many other publications, including Anand Bazar Patrika, Dainik Bhaskar, and The Tribune, before joining Congress mouthpiece, National Herald.
Netizens slam Rohini Mohan over her tweet criticising TOI for covering PM Modi’s comments
Nevertheless, many social media users called out Mohan for her tweet criticising the Times of India for reporting an event attended by the country’s Prime Minister.
A Twitter user criticised Mohan for her tweet, saying TOI simply reported whatever PM spoke in the rally, adding that reporting as it is not unethical as Mohan seemed to suggest.
I'm sure TOI is only reporting a factual news story. PM held a rally? Yes. Said something? Yes. Political? Yes. Factual? May be or may be not. As a news publication, TOI reported whatever PM has said. TOI may write an editorial if it disagrees. Simply reporting is not unethical.
— Aishwarya Shukla (@aishshukla) November 21, 2022
Another Twitter user replied to Mohan’s tweet stating that Medha Patkar is a paid activist whose intervention caused the cost of the Sardar Sarovar Dam to bloat manifold.
She was paid activist then she is paid activist now. Only due to her cost of Sardar Sarowar increased manifolds. So मोदी will definitely question मेधा पाटकर Only and he must. There was nothing logical in her protest then at all. She just wanted to stall the project that's it
— नेत्रा डाऊ 🙏🇮🇳 (@onlyonenetra) November 21, 2022
Yet another Twitter user highlighted how Medha Patkar delayed a project that has helped scores of people across different states, adding that all Patkar wanted was anarchy.
And how many people, in more than one state is Sardar Sarovar helping? Instead of finding an amicable solution for people she seems so dearly to care for, she made then dig their heels to not let a critical development project happen. She wanted anarchy & not a solution.
— Peacefully Political 🇮🇳 (@peacefullypolit) November 21, 2022
“A villain in the guise of activist,” said another Twitter user.
A villain in the guise of social activist
— Manoj G Kumar (@manoj4qwertr) November 21, 2022
PM Modi hauls Congress over the coals after Medha Patkar joins ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’
PM Modi on Sunday launched a blistering attack against Congress after ‘activist’ Medha Patkar, infamous for her role in delaying the Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada, joined Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
PM Modi lashed out at the Congress leaders and so-called social workers who delayed the Narmada project that has brought water to the households in the drought-hit areas of Kutch and Kathiawad in Gujarat.
In his 30-minute speech, PM Modi spoke at length about the water revolution that took place in Gujarat during his tenure as the chief minister first and the prime minister later and how it was achieved with the spirit of people’s power. At the same time, PM Modi did not forget to slam those responsible for delaying the projects related to this revolution for more than three decades.
PM Modi said, “There has been so much delay in the Narmada project. Pandit Nehru laid the foundation stone of the Sardar Sarovar Dam and it took so much time to complete that Narendra Modi had to come for the inauguration of the same. Just imagine how much time and money was wasted by this delay. And so many people came in between to resist this project for their own reasons.”
“Recently, a photograph was published. A Congress leader is seen in that photograph. Ask him, with what face would he come to you to seek votes. This Narmada was the only way to provide drinking water to our people living in the Kutch and Kathiawad regions. The water of this Narmada river was stopped from reaching your homes for more than three decades. Decades went into courts and procedures. Problems were created. Dirty agitation movements were started to ensure that the water does not reach here. Gujarat was being defamed in order to ensure that no one in the world including the world bank invests money in or gives money to Gujarat,” he further added.
Medha Patkar and her role in delaying Sardar Sarovar Dam
Medha Patkar is best known for her ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ against the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river. The protest contributed to the years-long postponement of the Sardar Sarovar Dam project on the Narmada River. So-called social activists and environmentalists like Medha Patkar expressed concern as soon as the construction of the project started. When Medha Patkar visited the project site in 1985, she accused that the dam had fallen short of the social and environmental requirements set forth by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
For suspected money laundering during the “Narmada Bachao Andolan,” the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed an FIR against activist Medha Patkar on April 5 this year. In addition to the ED, investigations into Patkar’s shady dealings have also been initiated by the Department of Revenue Intelligence and the Income Tax Department.
According to a Pioneer report, Patkar’s NGO received a donation of roughly Rs 1.2 crores within a year of its foundation in 2004 but managed to elude authorities for almost 17 years.
The investigation raised a number of concerns regarding the payments. According to records obtained by Pioneer, the NGO received the funds on June 18, 2005, from 20 different sources in a single day. Surprisingly, the amount of all 20 donations was the same, which was Rs 5,96,294. Pallavi Prabhaar Bhalekar, one of the donors, was a minor at the time the donations were transferred.
