Ever since an Islamist mob in Nuh caused violence by attacking Hindu devotees on 31st July, misinformation, fake news, and propaganda have been peddled by a certain section of the mainstream media through biased coverage. One such journalist is Rajdeep Sardesai whose interview with top cop Mamata Singh, ADP Law & Order, Haryana has been doing rounds on social media for all the wrong reasons.
Clips of the original 6:49 minute video have been shared online highlighting his narrative-building line of questioning. Essentially, going by his questions, Sardesai has in his mind already decided that the Bajrang Dal is responsible for Nuh violence.
At 4:24 minutes into the interview clip uploaded by India Today on YouTube, Sardesai asks, “There are two narratives flowing; one is that the Bajrang Dal was inciting creating a situation in Nuh ahead of this yatra which led to retaliation by the Muslim mob; the other is that Muslim groups in Nuh who are well armed, who are waiting for an opportunity to strike against some of the those who in the name of Gau Rakshak have been spreading hate and violence in the area. Which is right? Who is responsible according to you? Who threw the first stone? Who is responsible for this violence mam?”
Notice how he carefully paints a picture before getting to the very important yet basic question showing that in his world, the accused has been decided, held guilty and got a verdict. Instead, he conveniently ignore the fact that the pre-planned violence was perpetrated by an Islamist mob, and blames Bajrang Dal for the same, both ways.
Moreover, in Rajdeep’s world, the attack on Hindu devotees by Islamists is not attack or violence but a mere “retaliation to Bajrang Dal.” Then just as you think he is following with a slight course correction to sound balanced, he again blames the Gau Rakshaks (cow vigilantes) as the reason for the attack by the armed Muslim mobs. He nearly justifies the armed Muslim mob insinuating that they were armed only to attack Gau Rakshaks who deserve it because they have been spreading hate and violence in the area.
At the beginning of the original video, Rajdeep seems to be too focused on the Hindu devotees being armed, which was in fact in self-defense given how Islamists were pelting stones and firing bullets from all sides as per the top cop. But the mob attack finds rare to no mention throughout his video. Suffice to say the interview was an excuse to paint a false picture in an attempt to implicate the Hindus and make his claims look true with a top cop live on one side of the screen and treated visuals of only saffron-clad Hindu devotees on the other side as Sardesai kept using words like ‘violent and hateful Gau Rakshaks’, ‘Bajrang Dal creating a situation’, ‘yatra led to retaliation by Muslims’, etc.
Twitter users have called out Rajdeep Sardesai for his anti-Hindu and pro-Islamist coverage of and stand in the Nuh violence in a clear attempt to whitewash the Islamist mob’s crimes.
Journalism of @SardesaiRajdeep is a Joke
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 3, 2023
Rajdeep gave 2 option
1. Bajrangs incited, Muslims retaliated
2. Muslims were waiting to strike back at those spreading hate and violence
Spinner Rajdeep's both option blamed Bajrang Dal for violene and defends Muslims by calling it… pic.twitter.com/SZXxAuTCKe
As per @sardesairajdeep, there are only two theories around Nuh attack on Hindus:
— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) August 3, 2023
1. Bajrang Dal instigated Mewatis and they retaliated
2. Mewatis were waiting to strike back against hate spread by gau rakshaks
The sophistry that had us fooled for long
pic.twitter.com/ySBdPZcV8d
Moreover, Sardesai continued to insinuate that the violence was not one-sided but a random Hindu-Muslim clash with “both sides armed” even as he did so while shielding Islamists and blaming Hindus for the same. But his Hindu-hating campaign is not limited to one video. In the 11:30 minute long video clip of a new debate, Rajdeep in his very first question establishes that Hindus were responsible for the violence. “Who do you hold responsible? Militant Hindu groups like Bajrang Dal or the local Muslim mobs that had assembled in Nuh? Who is responsible? Who do you think is behind this?”
Rajdeep calls Bajrang Dal who were saving lives of Hindus as 'Militant Hindu Group' and people who killed police and Hindus as 'Local Muslim Mobs'.
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 4, 2023
Got angry after listening word Sonia pic.twitter.com/Nspr29PMkx
His choice of the words “Militant Hindu groups like Bajrang Dal” suggests that Sardesai still dreams of the utopian “saffron terror” conspiracy theory to just somehow come true so that his lies and propaganda are vindicated.
