Communist leader Kavita Krishnan took to Twitter today to rave and rant against an advertisement of the Uttar Pradesh government in the paper. The ad spoke about how rioters wreaked havoc before 2017 and now, they are lining up to apologise because of the strong action taken by the Yogi Adityanath government. Krishnan called this advertisement “Islamophobic”.
Dear @rajkamaljha – take a close look at this @IndianExpress front page with a huge Islamophobic ad by the UP Govt enjoying pride of place. You can’t pretend that this is a mere commercial decision – this ad editorialises, & makes the paper a vehicle for fascism. Chilling to see. pic.twitter.com/HEARJG8wGM
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) December 31, 2021
Taking to Twitter, Krishnan said, “Dear @rajkamaljha – take a close look at this @IndianExpress front page with a huge Islamophobic ad by the UP Govt enjoying pride of place. You can’t pretend that this is a mere commercial decision – this ad editorialises, & makes the paper a vehicle for fascism. Chilling to see”.
Interestingly, while Kavita Krishnan called the ad Islamophobic, a closer look at the ad itself could reveal how Kavita may have had a Freudian slip.
In the ad itself, there is no specific indication that the rioter belongs to the Muslim faith. This is to say that the rioter had no religious markings on him – he was not wearing a skull cap or anything else that would tacitly reveal that the ad meant for the rioter to be Muslim.
The ad simply said that the difference in administration is clear – before 2017, the people feared rioters and after 2017, the rioters are apologising to the police. The ad was followed by the slogan, “Soch Imandar, Kaam Damdar”, which means, “Honest intentions, good work”.
Kavita Krishnan, however, posted a snapshot of this ad and claimed that it was “Islamophobic” and went on to say that Indian Express was becoming a vehicle for “fascism” by printing this ad.
In calling the ad about rioters “Islamophobic”, many wondered if Kavita Krishnan had tacitly admitted that all rioters indeed belonged to the Muslim community.
When asked about the same, Kavita Krishnan had a meltdown.
Responding to author Aneesh Gokhale, Krishnan said that the ad was a “dog whistle” by the Yogi government and that he, presumably calling him a dog, has come running listening to that whistle.
The ad is an example of a dog whistle – and you’ve heard Yogi’s dog whistle and come running …
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) January 1, 2022
The message, that Kavita Krishnan thought qualified for smart retort, was repeated to several others who questioned her and asked if she was admitting that all rioters were Muslims.
The ad is an example of a dog whistle – and you’ve heard Yogi’s dog whistle and come running …
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) January 1, 2022
Dog whistles are pitched high to match their hearing. And you’re hearing the dog whistle and coming running …
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) January 1, 2022
“कुत्ते की सीटी” सुनने वाले कुत्ते का प्रत्यक्ष उदाहरण 👆🏾
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) January 1, 2022
Right, you’re one of the dogs hearing the dog whistle
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) December 31, 2021
While her meltdown on probably realising her own blunder was for all to see, Kavita Krishnan claimed that the rioter in the ad was wearing a Kefiyah and therefore, it was evident that the ad was implying that the rioter was a Muslim.
And the kefiyah worn by the “rioter” is a dog whistle
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) December 31, 2021
A Kefiyah is fashioned from a square scarf, and is usually made of cotton and comes in several designs. In Saudi Arabia, even a plain white cloth worn around the head is called a Kefiyah. It is basically a square scarf worn around the head or neck. There is no specific pattern to the Kefiyah. How then did Kavita Krishnan reach the conclusion that the scarf being worn by the rioter is specifically a Kefiyah is beyond reason.
After her epic meltdown, Kavita Krishnan posted a follow up tweet that supplemented her original delusion.
The Sanghi quote tweets & replies on this are all hearing Yogi’s dog whistle in the ad and coming running … do read them, esp the blue tick ones @rajkamaljha, to see what the bottom half of the @IndianExpress front page is saying and to whom. The history books will remember this https://t.co/RF9kHvOgfs
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) January 1, 2022
She urged people to read the “Sanghi responses” to her tweet, who she claimed “came running” after “hearing Yogi’s dog whistle in the ad”. Essentially, she called anybody questioning her rant a “dog”, in a stunning display of civility that is unique to Communists.
The Yogi government has taken a tough stand against gangsters, mafia lords and rioters. During anti-CAA violence, the Yogi administration ensured that the rioters, overwhelmingly belonging to the Muslim community, were apprehended and their properties attached to compensate for the loss caused to the state due to the violence. The Yogi government has also come down heavily against gangsters like Vikas Dubey.
In July 2020, Vikas Dubey and his men ambushed a police team in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and killed eight police personnel. The Police team had gone to raid history-sheeter Dubey’s house. When the team reached close to his house at Bikaru Village, Dubey’s men started firing. Dubey escaped from the spot. Several Police teams were formed to catch Dubey and his associates. A week later, Dubey was arrested in Madhya Pradesh. While UP Police was bringing him back, the car they were travelling in overturned on the highway
In the case, the SC commission had given a clean chit to the UP government after the very people outraging today against “Islamophobia” had claimed that the UP police had deliberately caused an accident to ensure the death of Dubey.
Essentially, it is evident that for the Communists and assorted Liberals, any action against rioters and gangsters would be termed some form of fictional phobia and motives would be attributed to the government simply because Yogi Adityanath wears saffron and they have vowed to pull down the widely popular government at the state, led by Yogi Adityanath, and at the centre, led by PM Narendra Modi.
