On Monday (April 10), Congress leader Kamruzzaman Choudhury courted controversy for threatening psephologist Pradeep Bhandari on the micro-blogging platform.
Bhandari had called out the blatant politicisation of milk by the Congress party ahead of the Karnataka election, which is scheduled to be held in May this year.
Having realised that the public could see through the divisive politics of the grand old party, an infuriated Kamruzzaman Choudhury took to Twitter to threaten the psephologist.
By attacking the Congress and that too as a Journalist , you have further exposed yourself. Will request @INCKarnataka to chase out this BJP agent masquerading as a Journalist. @DKShivakumar @LavanyaBallal #Nandini
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) April 10, 2023
In a tweet (archive), Choudhury claimed that Pradeep Bhandari somehow ‘exposed’ himself by calling out the Congress party. He then requested the Karnataka unit of the Congress to ‘chase out’ the psephologist from the State for supposedly being a ‘BJP agent.’
“Will request @INCKarnataka to chase out this BJP agent masquerading as a Journalist,” he threatened. This is however not the first time when Kamruzzaman Choudhury had resorted to such behaviour on social media.
Earlier in August 2019, he had referred to actress Payal Rohatgi as ‘bit*h’ while trying to establish his secular credentials. “Try as much as you can rant like a bitch, the fact will remain that India is a secular, Socialist, republic,” he went on a tirade against Rohatgi.
@Payal_Rohatgi . Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, Ishwar Allah Tero naam.
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) August 12, 2019
Try as much as you can rant like a bitch, the fact will remain that India is a secular, Socialist, republic. We shall defend it to the last breath. @INCIndia @republic @ZeeNewsHindi @BJP4India
Expert at downplaying violence
Besides name-calling, the Congress leader is also known for downplaying violence orchestrated by his co-religionists. “Ram Navami processions across India were a Supremacist plot by #Hindutva Gangs at intimidating #Muslims,” he claimed in a recent tweet.
#RamNavami processions across India were a Supremacist plot by #Hindutva Gangs at intimidating #Muslims.
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) April 1, 2023
After the role of Islamists emerged in the Ram Navami violence in Howrah, Kamruzzaman Choudhury announced that the violence had nothing to do with religion.
“BJP thinks its #Hindu voters are becoming Secular. TMC thinks its #Muslim Voters are deserting it. And Supari comes from the IT cell to highlight the incidents nonstop…” he lamented how the violence during the Hindu festival could not be brushed under the carpet.
#Bengal Ram Navami violence has got nothing to do with religion. But has everything to do with Politics. #BJP thinks it’s #Hindu voters are becoming Secular.#TMC thinks it’s #Muslim Voters are deserting it.
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) April 3, 2023
And Supari comes from the IT cell to highlight the incidents non stop…
In January last year, he fuelled the conspiracy theory that the Pulwama attack, carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Adil Ahmed Dar, was supposedly the handiwork of the Modi government. “Pulwama was scripted,” he had trivialised the deadly attack that claimed the lives of 40 Indian jawans.
#Punjab event was orchestrated by the #Sangh parivar and the #BJP . The PM was made a scapegoat to garner sympathy for the #UPElections2022 . #Pulwama was Scripted and so was #PMModiSecurityBreach .
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) January 8, 2022
Following the declaration of the results of the Jharkhand polls in 2019, the Congress leader suggested that BJP would ‘need a Pulwama every time’ if it wanted to win the polls. Choudhury had not just politicised the terror attack but also mocked the martyrdom of the fallen Indian soldiers.
Very Important takeaway from #JharkhandElectionResults .
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) December 23, 2019
1. State Incharges from AICC needs to be dedicated on ground like @SinghRPN to get alliances work.
2. Parties like @aimim_national who got only 1 % Vote share lie exposed.
3. @BJP4India will need a Pulwama every time.
Opindia had reported in October 2021 how the Congress leader had justified the brutal lynching of 4 BJP workers in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh.
Kamruzzaman Choudhury is a fanboy of Alt News
The Congress leader was seen batting for Alt News and its co-founder Mohammed Zubair, despite being well aware of its dubious fact checks and its controversial antecedents.
He claimed, “Stumbling roadblock to constant fake news peddling by the Right-wing ecosystem is the Fact checker, AltNews and Zubair. Now that fact-checking is to be done by the Govt itself, let’s see how the Bhakt Mandali reacts.”
Stumbling road block to constant fake news peddling by the Right wing ecosystem is the Fact checker, @AltNews and @zoo_bear .
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) April 7, 2023
Now that fact checking is to be done by the Govt itself , let’s see how the Bhakt Mandali reacts.
Kamruzzaman Choudhury had also pleaded with US President Joe Biden and other G7 countries to intervene in the release of Mohammed Zubair from jail.
“Arrest of Zubair at a time when our PPM is attending a G7summit2022 is uncalled for. It is incumbent on the leaders of so-called custodians of free speech to take this head-on with Modi, particularly by US President and his G7 colleagues,” he had tweeted.
Arrest of #zubair at a time when our #PM is attending a #g7summit2022 is uncalled for. It is incumbent on the leaders of so called custodians of free speech to take this head on with #Modi, particularly by @POTUS and his G7 colleagues.#FreeZubair #India
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) June 27, 2022
Peddling Hinduphobia on social media
The Congress leader has been at the forefront of making vile remarks against the Hindu Faith. In December last year, he made a distasteful comparison (archive) between Maa Sita’s exile and to supposed desertion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wife.
“Bhagwan Ram had sent Sita Devi on Banwas. Modi has deserted his wife. Can we safely now call Modi as Kalyug ka Ram,” he had said.
Bhagwan Ram had sent Sita Devi on Banwas.
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) December 23, 2022
Modi has deserted his wife. Can we safely now call Modi as Kalyug ka Ram.
In one tweet (archive), he was seen peddling the now-debunked Aryan invasion theory.
“Original inhabitants of present-day India were #Dravidians and #Aryans came to India is a fact. No matter how hard Sangh will try to alter this fact, Scientific evidence will prove this conclusively,” Choudhury hoped to exploit political faultlines.
Original inhabitants of present day India were #Dravidians and #Aryans came to India is a fact. No matter how hard Sangh will try to alter this fact , Scientific evidence will prove this conclusively.
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) October 26, 2021
He had also associated the sacred word ‘visarjan’ (immersion used in the context of idol) with urine. “Bhakt o ka Mutra visarjan karwa dia…” he had said in a tweet (archive).
Bhakt o ka Mutra visarjan karwa dia , Bhai ne. @kaushikrj6 https://t.co/wM8bwSs5Zn
— Kamru Choudhury (@Kamru_Choudhury) January 10, 2023
Last month, Kamruzzaman Choudhury stirred the hornet’s nest by comparing the Hindu religious chant of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to ‘Hail Hitler.’
While reacting to a tweet by BJP spokesperson Keya Ghosh about Hindus preparing for celebrating the Ram Navami festival in the state, a rattled Chowdhury dubbed the sacred chant a ‘war cry.’
“Jai Sri Ram is the new “Hail Hitler”. A slogan of pride has been reduced to an intimidating war cry,” he had claimed. The archive of the tweet can be accessed here.
The vicious attempt was to link ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to ‘Hail Hilter’, a Nazi chant dedicated to eulogising Adolf Hitler who oversaw the killing of over 6 million Jews.
For Congress leader Kamruzzaman Choudhury to essentially reduce the chant of Hindu reverence of Shri Ram to a ‘war cry’ (as done earlier by the likes of BBC and Wikipedia) is not just motivated by appeasement politics but also aimed at demonising the faith of the Hindu community.
It is now a clear indicator that such attempts to tarnish the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chant as a supposedly hate-filled slogan by the Congress ecosystem will continue unabated in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
