On Friday (September 8), the Congress party shared a disturbing video of authorities, belonging to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), rounding up stray dogs and relocating them to different areas within the National Capital.
Although MCD is controlled and run by the Aam Aadmi Party, a partner of the Congress in the I.N.D.I.A. alliance, the grand-old party accused the BJP government at the Centre of animal cruelty.
While taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Congress party claimed (archive), “Watch this video to witness the shocking cruelty inflicted upon innocent street dogs by the Modi government in preparation for the G20 summit. Dogs are being dragged by their necks, beaten with sticks and thrown into cages.”
Watch this video to witness the shocking cruelty inflicted upon innocent street dogs by the Modi government in preparation for the G20 summit.
— Congress (@INCIndia) September 8, 2023
Dogs are being dragged by their necks, beaten with sticks and thrown into cages. They are being denied food and water, and they are… pic.twitter.com/gObDAqiqiq
“They are being denied food and water, and they are being subjected to extreme stress & fear. It is imperative that we raise our voices against such appalling acts and demand justice for these voiceless victims,” it claimed.
The contentious tweet was accompanied by a video, which bore the logo of ‘People for Animals (PFA).’ Founded in 1992, the NGO is run by BJP leader and former Minister Maneka Gandhi.
Opindia found the original video, which was uploaded by PFA on its official Instagram page on Tuesday (September 5). In the caption, the NGO squarely blamed the AAP-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi for harassing street dogs.
“MCD’s actions raise several important questions: The G20 summit is mainly centred in the New Delhi zone so why is MCD clearing areas as far out as East and West Delhi? By law, sterilised dogs may not be removed.” it said.
The NGO further questioned, ” The Hon SC has directed all municipal agencies to strictly adhere to these rules under AWBI guidance. In the absence of any written orders, is MCD staff authorised to collect any dogs from anywhere? How does a short 2-day event justify the enormous cruelty and expense of such an action?”
It further added, “Why is MCD still using wire catchers in spite of its written commitment to only use nets? How is MCD going to ensure the health and safe return of so many dogs from so many different areas? Instead of working steadily over the years to sterilise and vaccinate dogs whereby the population would have been negligible, this sham overdrive to ‘hide’ away our dogs is both unnecessary and illegal. It must be stopped.”
Netizens question Congress party for sharing fake claims
The Congress party shrewdly ignored the context of the original video and the role of the MCD in relocating stray dogs. Instead, the grand-old party sought to exploit the opportunity to target the Modi government.
“If that’s the case, AAP should be removed from I.N.D.I alliance as MCD is controlled by AAP,” wrote Tanmay Shankar.
फिर तो INDI Alliance से “आप” को बाहर कर देना चाहिए क्योंकि MCD तो आप ही देख रही हैं। 😎
— Tanmay Shankar 🇮🇳 (@Shanktan) September 9, 2023
“MCD is run by the Kejriwal government. Ask them,” remarked another user.
MCD में केजरीवाल सरकार है उनसे पूछो ।
— Vikass Singh Rajput (@vikassingh_bjp) September 8, 2023
One Sukhwinder Singh Parmar said, “This (animal cruelty) is the handiwork of I.N.D.I.A. alliance #MCD”
यह आई एन डी आई ऐ वालों की करतूत है। #MCD
— Sukhwinder Singh Parmar (@sukhparmar03) September 8, 2023
Congress spreads fake news about BJP insulting world leaders at G20 Summit
This is not the first time that the Congress party has chosen to mislead the public, ahead of the G20 summit.
On Thursday (September 7), Congress leaders such as Pawan Khera and Sashi Tharoor falsely claimed that hoardings were erected in the National Capital, which supposedly showed that PM Modi was ranked ahead in popularity compared to other global leaders.
The hoarding has the image of PM Modi along with the images of the heads of Mexico, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Brazil and the USA, showing the popularity of each leader. PM Modi’s image is the largest is size, as his popularity is highest with 78%.
Shashi Tharoor had also posted the image on X, claiming that the BJP was indulging in sycophancy instead of the Indian philosophy of Atithi Devo Bhava. Later, Tharoor and Khera both deleted their tweet.
In reality, the image of the hoarding is old. It was put up by Vijay Goel after a ‘Morning Consult’ survey had found that PM Modi was the most popular leader with 78% votes.
A report from 6 April carried the Associated Press photograph, thus making it clear that the image was at least 5 months old. A Navbharat Times report from April 12 also carried a different photo of the same hoarding.
