On Wednesday, December 21, Congress leader and former Union Minister Jitendra Singh Alwar threatened News 18 anchor and Journalist Aman Chopra with legal action over a video where Rahul Gandhi is seen patting Jitendra Singh’s back as he ties Rahul Gandhi’s shoelaces during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
Journalist Aman Chopra on Wednesday tweeted a video of the incident with the caption, “The one who has been patted on the back by Rahul Gandhi is former Union Minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh.”
Quoting Chopra’s tweet, Jitendra Singh asked Chopra to delete his tweet and taunted him for having experience with court proceedings. “Mr. Aman Chopra kindly take the tweet down. I am sure you would be having experience about court proceedings,” Singh tweeted.
Mr Aman Chopra kindly take the tweet down.
— Jitendra Singh Alwar (@JitendraSAlwar) December 21, 2022
I am sure you would be having experience about court proceedings https://t.co/k8xiY0o4d5
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate, Chairperson of Social Media and Digital Platforms of the Congress party, also accused the journalist of spreading fake news, and she also threatened legal action saying that Aman Chopra might be well versed with legal procedures. “What you are tweeting with the intention of spreading fake news is wrong. Jitendra Singh ji has given a reply to your fake news mastermind – read it. By the way, you understand the legal process very well,” Shrinate tweeted in Hindi.
जो फ़ेक न्यूज़ फैलाने के आशय से तुम ट्वीट कर रहे हो वो ग़लत है।
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) December 21, 2022
जितेंद्र सिंह जी ने तुम्हारे फ़ेक न्यूज़ सरग़ना को जवाब दे दिया है – पढ़ लो।
वैसे लीगल कार्यवाही तो भलीभाँति समझते ही हो। https://t.co/XlMl4c7p0h
Reacting to Shrinate’s tweet, Chopra said that his intention was only to share a positive image from the Yatra where Rahul Gandhi tapped Jitendra Singh’s back.
“No Supriya ji, instead of threatening me with legal action, if you had seen the video, you might not have written like this. Rahul ji patting Jitendra ji lovingly on the back. If you find the intent of showing a good picture of Bharat Jodo flawed, then the problem is in your thinking and not in the tweet. thank you,” Chopra tweeted in Hindi.
नहीं सुप्रिया जी,मुझे लीगल कार्रवाई की धमकी देने के बजाय आप video को देखतीं तो शायद ऐसा ना लिखतीं।
— Aman Chopra (@AmanChopra_) December 21, 2022
राहुल जी जितेंद्र जी की पीठ पर प्यार से थपकी दे रहे हैं।भारत जोड़ो की एक अच्छी तस्वीर दिखाने का उद्देश्य आपको दोषपूर्ण लगता है, तो आपकी सोच में समस्या है ट्वीट में नही। धन्यवाद 🙏🏻 https://t.co/UlXzdPMDLa
Notably, Jitendra Singh, who appears to be on a spree of threatening people with legal action, has also warned a defamation case against BJP IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya, who tweeted a video on Wednesday claiming that the Congress leader was tying Rahul Gandhi’s shoe laces.
In the 20-second clip, Rahul Gandhi was seen tapping Jitendra Singh Alwar and pointing to the ground, after which the latter bent down to tie his shoelaces.
“Former union minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh goes down on his knee to tie Rahul Gandhi’s shoe lace. The arrogant entitled brat instead of helping himself is seen patting his back…इसी परिपाटी की बात कर रहे थे खड़गे जी? कांग्रेस में पिद्दियों की कमी नहीं है,” Malviya tweeted.
Former union minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh goes down on his knee to tie Rahul Gandhi’s shoe lace. The arrogant entitled brat instead of helping himself is seen patting his back…
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 21, 2022
इसी परिपाटी की बात कर रहे थे खड़गे जी? कांग्रेस में पिद्दियों की कमी नहीं है। pic.twitter.com/FtHCCwNTwu
To this, Jitendra Singh claimed that he was tying his own shoelaces and not that of Rahul Gandhi’s. He further asked Malviya to apologise or be ready to face legal action.
“As incharge of ruling BJP’s National Info Dept your tweet is a complete lie and defamatory. The fact is that after being pointed out by Rahul ji upon my request he paused briefly so that I could tie my own shoelaces. Delete the tweet and apologize to RG or face legal action,” Singh tweeted.
As incharge of ruling BJP’s National Info Dept your tweet is a complete lie and defamatory.
— Jitendra Singh Alwar (@JitendraSAlwar) December 21, 2022
The fact is that after being pointed out by Rahul ji upon my request he paused briefly so that I could tie my own shoe laces.
Delete the tweet and apologise to RG or face legal action https://t.co/HDXVii09bg
Interestingly, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate went a step ahead to ‘prove’ that Singh did not bow down before Rahul Gandhi to tie his shoelaces as his shoes do not have lace.
Shrinate called BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya a ‘fake news peddler’ for sharing a video where Jitendra Singh could be seen bowing down and getting on his knees in what appears to be tying Rahul Gandhi’s shoelace.
In her tweet, Shrinate shared a picture of a shoe claiming that it is Rahul Gandhi’s shoes which he was wearing during the Yatra and said that his shoes were laceless.
“Hey fake news peddler @amitmalviya here’s a pic of Rahul Gandhi Ji’s shoe, which is laceless!! You have been caught lying yet again, but since you are authorised by BJP Prez JP Nadda and PM Modi to lie everyday – all 3 of you owe an apology to @RahulGandhi STOP LYING,” Shrinate tweeted.
Hey fake news peddler @amitmalviya here’s a pic of Rahul Gandhi Ji’s shoe, which is laceless!!
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) December 21, 2022
You have been caught lying yet again, but since you are authorised by BJP Prez JP Nadda and PM Modi to lie everyday – all 3 of you owe an apology to @RahulGandhi
STOP LYING pic.twitter.com/qCylAXwFZ8
But the photo that she posted didn’t match what she was claiming, as it is not a laceless shoe in the image. It can be clearly seen that there are laces on the show, and the word ‘Lock Laces’ can be seen on it. This means, this is a shoe with laces, but it has Lock Laces, which means that the laces do not need to be tied, they can be tightened using the lock. But the lock may become loose, and it is required to tighten it again.
Lock Laces is a brand of shoelaces with locks that be installed on regular shoes replacing the regular laces.
Shrinate was also trolled by netizens for sharing a picture of Rahul Gandhi’s shoes.
This is not the first time that the Congress party, which frequently claims to be a champion of press freedom, has threatened legal action for the slightest inconvenience. The Congress party, which frequently accuses the BJP of undermining Indian democracy’s fourth pillar, has a history of threatening the media over whatever it finds objectionable.
In October this year, Congress leaders took to Twitter to threaten the Delhi-based digital media company ScoopWhoop with legal action over some old memes of Rahul Gandhi. In April 2015, ScoopWhoop published an article titled: “These Rahul Gandhi Memes Will Tell You Why He Needs Special Treatment”, wherein it shared some hilarious memes about the Congress leader.
INC youth leader Srinivas BV lambasted ScoopWhoop for those 2015 memes it had published in jest about Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi. The Congress leader threatened to sue ScoopWhoop if those ‘malicious, false, and defamatory’ Tweets were not deleted within 24 hours with an apology on all platforms.
We take strong notice of these malicious, false and defamatory tweets by @ScoopWhoop aimed at tarnishing the image of the leader who is exposing the govt.
— Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) October 14, 2022
Calling upon you to remove these tweets in 24 hours with an apology on all platforms or legal consequences will follow.
Since the time of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Congress has threatened journalists for being “too critical” of their policies or whatever they deem inappropriate, and the tradition seemingly continues.
