On the 5th of June, digital news portal The New Indian shared a video of BJP leader Vijay Goel with the claim that he slapped a woman publicly. The New Indian tweeted, “BJP leader and ex-Union minister @VijayGoelBJP slaps a Delhi woman publicly during a conversation on stray dog policy”.
BJP leader and ex Union minister @VijayGoelBJP slaps a Delhi woman publicly during a conversation on strag dog policy pic.twitter.com/h2tQGUkY3d
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) June 5, 2023
An Archive tweet of The New Indian can be accessed here.
This video was then shared by Rohan Dua, who is the Executive Editor of The New Indian. Dua tweeted, “SHOCKER: BJP leader and ex Union minister Vijay Goel slaps a Delhi woman publicly during a conversation on a stray dog policy”.
SHOCKER: BJP leader and ex Union minister Vijay Goel slaps a Delhi woman publicly during a conversation on a stray dog policy.pic.twitter.com/MeAuJ5kzoL
— Rohan Dua (@rohanduaT02) June 5, 2023
An archived tweet of Rohan Dua can be accessed here.
This video was subsequently shared by several politicians and official handles of political parties such as AAP, Congress and TMC.
SHOCKING!
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) June 5, 2023
Former Union Minister and @BJP4India leader Vijay Goel SLAPPED A WOMAN and MISBEHAVED with her during a meeting.
While PM @narendramodi preaches 'NAARI SAMMAN,' the ground reality is starkly different.
With NO RESPECT for women, BJP continues to bring SHAME UPON OUR… https://t.co/Z17sDv5SYD
भाजपा का महिला विरोधी चेहरा फिर हुआ बेनकाब!
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) June 4, 2023
एक सवाल पूछने पर ही BJP नेता @VijayGoelBJP महिला को मारने के लिए खड़े हो गए।
BJP लुच्चे-लफंगे, गुंडे, मवाली, बलात्कारियों की पार्टी है। pic.twitter.com/BVRAWgAJ7H
KCR supporter who belongs to the BRS party also shared the video.
BJP leader, 4 times MP & Ex Union Minister Vijay Goel slaps a women as she was recording,
— YSR (@ysathishreddy) June 5, 2023
No action being taken on him. What message are you giving Modi ji? Shameful! pic.twitter.com/bxGw84swvU
There were several other leaders who spread these videos. Saurabh Bharadwaj of AAP retweeted the video shared by the official handle of his party.
What is the truth? Did Vijay Goel slap a woman during a strategy meet to manage stray dog menace?
The video, which was shared by The New Indian and Rohan Dua quickly went viral and several politicians and their supporters shared it widely to attack Vijay Goel, claiming that he had slapped a woman publicly.
BJP leader Vijay Goel took to Twitter to release a video where he vehemently denied these charges. He said that the video was deliberately taken from an angle where one can’t see what really transpired. He said he had made these activists sit down and was talking to them while calling them ‘beti’. He further said that he had merely asked them to not record the conversation and listen to what he was saying. He flatly denied the charges that he had slapped anyone.
मेरे खिलाफ सोशल मीडिया पर झूठा वीडियो काफी फैलाया जा रहा हैं
— Vijay Goel (@VijayGoelBJP) June 5, 2023
आप भी देखिये मैंने न महिला को मारा न,किसी का फ़ोन छीना।@PMOIndia @BJP4India @BJP4Delhi @AamAadmiParty @INCIndia @Saurabh_MLAgk pic.twitter.com/POIgjXra7c
In his video, Vijay Goel names Saurabh Bharadwaj, Yogita Bhayana and The New Indian, saying that they have uploaded a video claiming that he slapped a woman. He said the meeting was to form a strategy to handle the stray dog menace in Model Town.
He said that these elements who had come there were made to sit down respectfully and then he had a conversation with them about the menace. He said nobody was slapped and nobody’s phone was snatched.
In the video, it was evident that Vijay Goel was sitting on a chair and talking to them about RWA feeding stray dogs. Thereafter, he gets up to ask one of the women to stop recording a video.
Here is the specific video from which it is evident that Vijay Goel did not slap the woman, nor did he attempt to snatch her phone.
After fake news was spread by The New Indian, political parties and leaders, Yogita Bhayana and others, netizens have taken to Twitter to demand police action against those who shared the fake news including the media platform.
This is fake news, smartly capture video from back so it looks like a slap, in reality the BJP leader didn't slap anyone. Please take strict action for this fake news spreader.
— Naweed (@Spoof_Junkey) June 5, 2023
Cc: @DelhiPolice @CPDelhi @Uppolice @noidapolice https://t.co/hrNDjGx8s0 pic.twitter.com/ShlNJ4W6AF
Netizens have also demanded action against Mohammad Zubair, the co-founder of AltNews, who claims to be a fact-checker. He shared the fake video as well.
Fake news shared by LKFC and pappu trolls vs Real video pic.twitter.com/H0H2BuXRx0
— Lala (@FabulasGuy) June 5, 2023
There were several other journalists like Rohini Singh, who have spread fake news in the past rather diligently, who had shared the fake video.
nothing is wrong with himhttps://t.co/NLy43n2OQI
— Right Minded Indian 🏳️🌈 (@ImdesiHypocrite) June 5, 2023
Earlier, ‘animal activist’ Yogita Bhayana had gate crashed a meeting by Vijay Goel on stray dogs, got slapped by a woman
On May 10, a group of animal ‘activists’ gate-crashed former union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Goel’s seminar on the menace of stray dogs at Constitution Club to mark their protest. Two women, one of which was animal activist Yogita Bhayana, exchanged slaps. Videos of the incident had gone viral on social media, including the “slap-gate”. In the video, when Bhayana and other activists were being forced out of the meeting by the attendees and the police, she slapped a woman and got slapped in return.
Bhayana claimed the organisers of the seminar misbehaved with them. She said, “We wanted to speak our minds. Rather than giving us a platform, they started thrashing us.” She further claimed the organisers used a photograph of a ‘ferocious dog’ across the city in promotional posters for the seminar. She further claimed that the seminar aimed to have a discussion on the lines of an ‘anti-stray dogs’ drive.
Even at that time, Vijay Goel had accused the animal activists of disrupting the event. The full report can be read here.
