In a frightening flashback to March 2020, we remember the Left and Islamists justifying the Tablighi Jamaat incident, which had led to over 30% of Coronavirus infections in the country at that time (both directly and indirectly). The Left argues that religious gatherings were permitted at that time, and there hadn’t been any notification from Delhi Police against the gathering (which has already been disproved, with a video of a Delhi Police officer requesting Jamaat authorities to cancel the gathering).
Coming back to August 2020, the same Left-liberals and Islamists have started to trend “#TirupatiVirus” on Twitter, claiming that 75% of India’s COVID-19 cases are linked to temples. The infographic which shows this data is claimed to be an “unofficial infographic” by the India Today news channel.
While the Left ecosystem labelled everyone who criticised the Jamaat as “Islamophobic” in early 2020, they seem to be comfortable calling the outbreaks of the Coronavirus in Tirupati as “Tirupati Virus”, in an attempt to blame the virus outbreak on Hindus.
#TirupatiVirus pic.twitter.com/Zk1bulsikl
— قرّم🗡 𝐐𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐦 (@ElPsyQ) August 10, 2020
Did Indian Media call Tirupati Temple as "Single Source" or not??
— Md Asif Khan (@imMAK02) August 10, 2020
Will Godi Media do primetime debate about Tirupati funding??
Remember how Media defamed Nizamuddin Markaz??
Will they file case against Tirupati Devotees like they did against Tableeghi ??#TirupatiVirus
#TirupatiVirus will @MainaBismee & @ShekharGupta call this crime against humanity like they said same about #TableeghiJamaat… pic.twitter.com/zG48J3naW9
— Shaikh Adnan عدنان (@IamAdnanSk) August 10, 2020
Though the blatant hypocrisy and double standards of the Leftist ecosystem are very apparent in this case, the misinformation spread by them raises concerns. There are several holes in their claims which demolish their attempts to demonise Hindus. Here are 5 such reasons:
1. No credible source to prove the claim
At the time of writing, there has been no evidence to prove that the rise of Coronavirus cases in the country are linked to temples. The source from which the infographic allegedly gives this estimate is not mentioned.
2. Tirupati devotees did not hide from government authorities
Unlike the attendees of Tablighi Jamaat Markaz in Delhi, Tirupati devotees did not take refuge in their temples to hide from government authorities and in the process, spread the virus further. The devotees readily got themselves tested and quarantined.
3. Tirupati devotees do not claim that the Coronavirus is ‘a punishment for non-believers’
During the Markaz of the Tablighi Jamaat, Maulana Saad claimed that the Coronavirus is a ‘punishment by Allah for non-believers’, and that Muslims ‘need not worry about the virus’. Tirupati devotees had a scientific temper and co-operated with the authorities and doctors.
4. Tirupati devotees did not misbehave with healthcare workers
Tirupati devotees at no point of the time resisted treatment from healthcare workers and did not harass the frontline warriors of COVID-19. The Tablighi Jamaat attendees had reportedly misbehaved and molested the nurses working in a Kanpur hospital.
5. No foreigner was present in the Tirupati temple procession
The Tablighi Jamaat incident led to a massive outbreak of COVID-19 in the country because of the presence of outsiders in the event, despite guidelines advising them not to do so. Before the Markaz, COVID-19 wasn’t that widespread in the country. However, the Markaz led to a massive outbreak of the virus. The Tirupati temple procession had only domestic pilgrims and no foreign national was present.
There has been a laughable comparison of the two events. The Leftists have yet again managed to expose their own hypocrisy and double standards by blaming temples for a rising number of COVID-19 cases in Tirupati.
