The BJP-led NDA on June 4 returned to power with 293 seats in the Lok Sabha, invalidating the various Exit Poll predictions of a landslide victory with around 400 seats. Even as the Opposition camp saw this as a mandate against the Modi government, key figure in the INDIA bloc Akhilesh Yadav summarized the sentiment by saying, “The sun on BJP’s negative politics has set and now it’s the dawn of the positive, constructive politics.”
The hope of a dawn of positive, constructive politics, perhaps shared by millions in this country, however, took a big hit when it was learnt that the BJP had invited several prominent Right-wing social media influencers, who had been repeatedly found sharing and amplifying communal hate and disinformation targeting the Muslim community, to the oath-taking ceremony held at the Raisina Hills on June 9.
One wonders if the invite to the prestigious event was a reward for the work put in by these individuals, who form the ‘unofficial IT cell’ of the BJP. Throughout the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls, these influencers played their part diligently alongside the official IT cell, amplifying pro-BJP propaganda on social media, usually by villainizing the Muslim community and amplifying falsehoods about the Opposition.
Several of them flaunted their invitation to the event as a sign of legitimacy to their work from the highest quarters. Here is a compilation of such individuals and their antecedents:
Raushan Sinha
X (Twitter) user @MrSinha_, whose real name is Raushan Sinha, identifies himself on the platform as an ‘Indian Political commentator’ and ‘Hindu Rights Activist’. He is one of the most prominent Right-wing influencers on the platform. Not only has he been found sharing communal disinformation on innumerable occasions, but the handle was also suspended for violating Twitter’s policy.
On June 9, Sinha tweeted an image of the invitation letter addressed to him and wrote ‘Opportunity to witness a historical moment… Modi 3.0 loading.’
Opportunity to witness a historical moment….
Modi 3.0 loading 😍😍 pic.twitter.com/tCWMshCrfX
— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) June 9, 2024
In the past two months, Sinha has been fact-checked at least seven times by Alt News. These include false claims directly targeting Congress and Rahul Gandhi.
This user took a leading role in peddling pro-Israel propaganda after the Israel-Hamas war had broken out in October 2023. He has actively amplified misinformation and conspiracy theories, including the unverified claim that the Hamas beheaded 40 babies. He also falsely claimed that a four-year-old child named Omar killed in the conflict was a doll. At the height of the war, he amplified the falsehood that a man seen intubated on a hospital bed in a viral clip was Palestinian influencer Saleh Aljafarawi. However, in reality, the video showed Saeed Zandek, a 16-year-old man injured in an Israeli raid on Nur Shams refugee camp in July-August 2023.
Click to view slideshow.In December 2022, when Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant met with a near-fatal car crash, @MrSinha_ tweeted that the mishap had taken place in a Rohingya-dominated area and that instead of helping him, the locals looted all his belongings and ran away.
This was entirely false, as police clarified in a video statement. In fact, Pant was saved by Haryana Roadways Bus operators. The two had contacted the police, saved Pant’s life and handed his valuables to him while the paramedics were taking him away.
Suresh Chavhanke
Suresh Chavhanke, the editor-in-chief of the openly Islamophobic news outlet Sudarshan News, was also present at the ceremony. He posted a video of himself at Rashtrapati Bhavan with the caption, “Wearing a ‘Jai Sri Ram’ scarf, I am present on your behalf at the historic swearing-in ceremony of Modi 3.0.”
“जय श्री राम” का पटका पहनकर मोदी 3.0 के एतिहासिक शपथ ग्रहण कार्यक्रम में आपके और से उपस्थित हूँ। #ModiCabinet #RashtrapatiBhawan #NarendraModi #Modi
pic.twitter.com/FIYXNLvwC8— Dr. Suresh Chavhanke “Sudarshan News” (@SureshChavhanke) June 9, 2024
Sudarshan News and its journalists have a history of propagating dangerous, communally-divisive misinformation. At the same time, it has often received endorsement from the BJP.
In 2022, after the Shraddha Walkar murder case, Chavhanke doxxed an interfaith couple by sharing the venue details of their wedding reception. The tweet posted with the hashtags #LoveJihad_ActOfTerrorism #LoveJihad #Shraddha gained over 5,000 retweets and garnered over 10,000 likes. The wedding eventually had to be called off allegedly “because of the function invite that was leaked to the public.”
Chavhanke is also known for delivering incendiary speeches. In one such speech documented by Alt News, Chavhanke addressed a gathering in Sangamner, which was openly Islamophobic. The clip was tweeted by the official handle of Sudarshan News.
संगमनेर का हिंदू कहता, “था मेरा अब्दुल वैसा नहीं है” तो सुरेश चव्हाणके जी ने बताया उसने क्या किया@SureshChavhanke #HinduHunkarSabha #Sangmner #Lovejihad pic.twitter.com/x1JSoVDhv6
— Sudarshan News (@SudarshanNewsTV) June 8, 2023
In July 2023, he delivered a rabidly hateful speech against Muslims in Kopargaon, Maharashtra, fuelling the conspiracy of “thook (spit) jihad”. In 2020, a show hosted by Chavhanke on Sudarshan News peddled the conspiracy theory of ‘UPSC Jihad’, suggesting that Muslims were infiltrating the public services. The Union government found the show ‘offensive’ and cautioned the channel. The Supreme Court restrained the programme saying “…the object, intent and purpose of the program is to vilify the Muslim community with an insidious attempt…”
During the election season, Sudarshan News consistently published content rife with hate speech and communal misinformation. A joint report by the Dalit Solidarity Forum, Indian American Muslim Council, India Civil Watch International, Hindus for Human Rights, and Tech Justice Law Project highlights 26 videos that violated YouTube’s policies on hate speech, misinformation, and monetization. Particularly concerning is that 17 of these videos were released during the polling. The content propagated conspiracy theories, dehumanized Muslims, and already debunked false claims against Congress and other Opposition leaders.
Abhijit Iyer-Mitra
Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, a senior fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, tweeted an image of the invitation card for the PM’s oath-taking ceremony sent to him and thanked PM Modi. “Hoping to see you in person shortly”, his tweet read.
Mitra has, over time, openly exhibited his profound disdain for Muslims. For instance, in 2020, he attacked Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair for criticizing the principal of the Kanpur Medical College who had referred to Tablighi Jamaat members as “terrorists” and suggested that the government was wasting resources on them instead of placing them in solitary confinement in jail.
In his tweet, which has since been deleted, he called Zubair a “Jihadi Jabbar” and made offensive remarks about his mother and attacked his religious beliefs. Individuals who came to Zubair’s defense were called ‘Jihad apologists’. The extremely vile language of the tweet makes it unfit for inclusion in this report.
Mitra has also dubbed Alt News an ‘ISI Front’.
So-called defence expert’s expert analysis consists of throwing terms like ‘Jihadi’, Jihad apologist’, ‘funded by terror funders’, ‘ISI front’ at people he disagrees with…. Tweet now deleted.🤷🏻♀️ pic.twitter.com/9tbqjM3pt5
— SamSays (@samjawed65) June 4, 2020
Mitra was arrested by Bhubaneshwar Police in 2018 for his allegedly derogatory tweets on the Jagannath and Konark temples. In a video posted on Twitter, Mitra said the temple was a ‘humple” (combining the words ‘temple’ and ‘hump’, which is a slang for sex).
Mitra is also part of the Right Wing ecosystem that systematically disseminates misinformation and propaganda. False claims made by him have been fact-checked by Alt News several times. In March 2022, Mitra, who also identifies as a ‘defence specialist’, amplified the claim that Russia “stopped the war for 6 hours” for the safe evacuation of Indian nationals. The falsehood has been debunked by the Union defence ministry itself.
On January 30 2020, a person linked with the Bajrang Dal had opened fire at students of Jamia Millia Islamia protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). A student Shadab Farooq was injured in a random shot. After photographs of Farooq being escorted by a woman surfaced online, Abhijit Iyer-Mitra pointed out a red bottle visible in many pictures and asked, “What’s this red bottle? Any idea?” This tweet was retweeted over 2,000 times. The red bottle, used by several right-wing handles to propagate conspiracy theories and raise doubts about the nature of injuries, turned out to be a harmless water bottle.
Nupur J Sharma and J Sai Deepak
The editor-in-chief of the Right-wing propaganda outlet OpIndia, Nupur J Sharma, was also invited to the ceremony. In a tweet containing images of the invitation card addressed to her, she wrote, “Looking forward to being a part of history being made.”
Looking forward to being a part of history being made pic.twitter.com/BbbwnyBCcd
— Nupur J Sharma (@UnSubtleDesi) June 9, 2024
She also quote-tweeted a selfie with Supreme Court lawyer J Sai Deepak.
The propaganda website that Sharma edits has been instrumental in propagating communal misinformation and conspiracy theories for several years. ‘Journalists’ at this outlet, who often employ an openly Islamophobic writing style, strongly endorse the theory of ‘Love Jihad.’ Their editor-in-chief has, on several occasions, referred to Muslims as ‘Jihadis.’ After the Shraddha Walkar murder case in 2022, Sharma infamously tweeted ‘Apka Abdul Bhi Waisa Hai,’ using Abdul as a placeholder name for Muslim men in inter-religious relationships.
“Aapka Abdul bhi waisa hi hai”
— Nupur J Sharma (@UnSubtleDesi) November 14, 2022
In March 2023, Sharma was booked along with OpIndia CEO Rahul Roushan for spreading false information about attacks on Bihari migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. Below are a few more instances where Sharma, in her capacity as a journalist, resorted to communal rhetoric in her tweets. She uses derogatory terms such as ‘Potassium Oxide’ and ‘madrasachaap,’ casteist insults like ‘chapri,’ and ‘Khalistani’ to address Punjabis.
Click to view slideshow.In a piece analyzing the results of the 2024 general elections, Sharma wrote, “While the Jihadi beheads, the Left gives it cover fire. While the Jihadi attacks, the Left puts a target on the back of Hindus who need to be attacked. BJP has mostly been comatose. It has perhaps been so busy trying to prove that they are not fascists that their complacency itself has become a kind of neutered fascism for their supporters.”
She has a particular penchant for personally targetting journalists and influencers with whom she differs ideologically. Below is an example of Sharma attacking Rajdeep Sardeshai in a language that no civil society can condone:
J Sai Deepak, a Right-wing public intellectual, gave an interview to YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia, also known as BeerBiceps, in May 2023, where Allahabadia asked Deepak to name three people who should leave India and never return. Deepak responded with the names of three prominent Indian intellectuals: Romila Thapar, Professor Irfan Habib, and Barkha Dutt. It is worth noting that Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib are historians of international repute, and Barkha Dutt is a senior journalist. All three are vocal critics of the Modi government. He also indulged in hate speech and misinformation throughout the interview.
Rishi Bagree
Rishi Bagree, who has been found by Alt News peddling misinformation and communal hate on a regular basis, is a prominent Right-wing influencer with a huge following on X. Bagree was invited to the oath-taking ceremony and shared an image of the invitation card on X, expressing his gratitude to PM Modi.
If one Googles Rishi Bagree, the news section on Google primarily comes up with fact-checks of his false and communal claims.
During election season, in April, following the PM’s communal speech Rajasthan’s Banswara, Bagree shared a cropped video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech, alleging Hinduphobia by Gandhi. “Every Vote to Congress is signing your own death warrant”, said Bagree. Read Alt News fact-check here.
Bagree tweeted several times about the Congress Manifesto, accusing the party of minority appeasement. He asked whether the manifesto was for India or Pakistan in one of his tweets.
In the midst of the election, he had also shared a meme which showed Muslims taking over the house of a Hindu family. The caption said: “They’re coming for your family home, your memories, your sweat, your hardwork, your life savings.”
Vinodh Kumar aka StringReveals
Pro-Hindutva YouTuber StringReveals thanked PM Modi for inviting him to the oath-taking ceremony. “One more dream come true”.
In September 2023, ‘String’, Vinodh Kumar’s YouTube channel, was permanently deleted, citing several counts of violations of community guidelines. As per a mail sent by YouTube to Kumar, the platform found “severe or repeated violations of our Community Guidelines”.
String Channel removed‼️
No strike, no violation but straight delete🤷♂️@TeamYouTube @YouTube
Please explain whose boots you licked to do this to me?
If you don’t bring back my channel asap, you will see how far I’ll reach.
Mind you! YouTube is not the only platform where we can do… pic.twitter.com/GCF3Fqcz2K— String (@StringReveals) September 20, 2023
Notably in February 2021, Kumar posted a video wherein he said certain journalists, activists and fact-checkers must be “hanged to death” for “conspiring against India”.
Anand Ranganathan
Anand Ranganathan, the face of the Right Wing intellectuals, was also invited to the ceremony.
मैं, नरेंद्र दामोदरदास मोदी pic.twitter.com/eEWMTxynEZ
— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) June 9, 2024
Very recently, he was condemned far and wide for suggesting an ‘Israel-like solution’ for Kashmir. in a talk show hosted by ANI editor Smita Prakash, he remarked, “You need an Israel-like solution to Kashmir. The fact that Israel is unable to solve it is not because Israel is not acting to solve it. Israel has catered to its people, but we haven’t.”
Following an uproar over his comments, Ranganathan issued a clarification on his X handle.
Ranganathan’s hardline stance on matters of Hindutva has evolved over time. There was a period when he would discuss the rebuilding of the Babri Masjid and the decline of mainstream media on Newslaundry’s weekly podcast, Hafta. Now, he appears on mainstream media channels, urging PM Modi to engage in ‘Hindu-Muslim’ discrimination to prevent Hindus from ‘becoming eighth-class citizens.’
Prime minister Modi says he doesn’t do Hindu Muslim. Well, that’s my grouse with him. He should do Hindu Muslim. It is because he doesn’t, that Hindus are ignorant of reality, are actively discriminated against, are guilt-tripped into becoming eighth-class citizens.
My views: pic.twitter.com/EhlEHZ7Dys
— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) May 15, 2024
Vijay Patel
Self-proclaimed ‘fact-checker’ from the Right Wing, Vijay Patel, who has himself been fact-checked for spreading misinformation multiple times, was also invited to the oath-taking ceremony.
In December 2023, Vijay Patel launched an attack on doctor-influencer Cyriac Abby Philips, also known as The Liver Doc, following Philips’ tweet criticizing yoga guru Ramdev and his firm Patanjali Ayurved for making “misleading claims.” Despite being blocked by Philips, Patel continued his communal and religious attacks, extending them to Philips’ father, Dr. Philips Augustine, a Padma Shri awardee. Patel further alleged that Philips was involved in an “organ transplant racket” and “conversion mafia,” vowing to expose him and his “anti-Hindu organization.”
Senior BJP leaders follow Patel and he is often cited by RSS and Hindu supremacist outlets. His content, targeting critics of the BJP government and accusing them of being part of an “anti-Hindu ecosystem” linked to figures like George Soros and the London School of Economics, has earned him appearances on TV news channels. Patel’s claims, often speculative and lacking verification, focus heavily on Alt News and its founders, accusing them of anti-Hindu conspiracies.
Others invited to the ceremony included
- Ankur Singh, who runs the the social media handle ‘Political Kida’, was also present at the ceremony. Political Kida has been called out by Alt News several times for amplifying pro-BJP misinformation and propaganda. He shared a selfie from the event, captioning it, ‘Waiting for the three magical words “Narendra Damodardas Modi”.
- Retired Major Gaurav Arya, too, was invited to the ceremony. Arya has been fact-checked by Alt News multiple times. On March 14, 2019, he tweeted a video showing semi-clad, blindfolded men being beaten, claiming they were Pakistan’s Frontier Corps. This followed a Republic TV report on a Baloch Republic Army (BRA) attack on Pakistani Army posts on February 27, 2019. However, Alt News found the same video posted on YouTube on February 5, 2019, disproving Arya’s claim. The full report can be read here. False claims by him have been fact-checked by Alt News several times. On October 4, 2019, the Indian Air Force (IAF) released a promotional video about the Balakot airstrike, which had taken place in February that year after the Pulwama attack. Some media outlets mistakenly reported this video as real footage of the airstrike. Republic TV showed the video as “IAF’s Balakot proof.” The then consulting editor of the channel, Major Gaurav Arya, supported the IAF’s decision to release the video and called for more such videos to fight propaganda, even though he hadn’t seen it. The channel confusingly labelled the video as both a “promotional video” and “proof” of the airstrike. The Alt News report on this can be read here.
- Supreme Court lawyer and Right Wing influencer Shashank Shekhar Jha was also invited to the event. Jha features regularly among users called out by Alt News for sharing misinformation on social media. He was one of the many users who had shared a dubious letter claiming ‘Sikhs For Justice’, an outfit banned by the Indian govt, extending support to AAP in Punjab. Not only has SFJ refuted the allegation, but there are also inconsistencies in the letter. Here is the Alt News fact check. During this recent elections, he amplified a clip of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s speech with misleading claims. He claimed that Siddaramaiah had pledged to distribute the wealth of nation to Muslims. However a translation of his speech revealed that Siddaramaiah had actually said ‘The wealth of this country belongs to you and belongs to us’. Read Alt News fact-check here.
The post Suresh Chavhanke to Raushan Sinha — BJP’s ‘unofficial IT cell’ rewarded with invite to Modi swearing-in appeared first on Alt News.
This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Shinjinee Majumder.
Shinjinee Majumder | Radio Free (2024-06-26T10:55:06+00:00) Suresh Chavhanke to Raushan Sinha — BJP’s ‘unofficial IT cell’ rewarded with invite to Modi swearing-in. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2024/06/26/suresh-chavhanke-to-raushan-sinha-bjps-unofficial-it-cell-rewarded-with-invite-to-modi-swearing-in/
Please log in to upload a file.
There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.