Image Courtesy:newsd.in
Kolkata police have filed an FIR against Madhu Purnima Kishwar on November 9, 2020 for potentially threatening law and order sharing on Twitter a video of a rally in Bangladesh and claiming that it was an ‘Islmaic rally’ in Kolkata.
According to police, the song played in the video clearly refers to Bangladesh. The recording also shows several Bangladeshi flags. However, Kishwar, while sharing the video captioned it as “In Kolkata.” The police called her actions “absolutely incorrect and misleading, posing a threat to the law and order here.” Accordingly, they flagged Kishwar’s tweet with a ‘FakeNewsAlert’ hashtag while the Information Technology (IT) unit started a probe into the matter.
#FakeNewsAlert
A video clip from Bangladesh is being falsely claimed to be from Kolkata. Legal action initiated. pic.twitter.com/FcL1LP12Ln— Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) November 9, 2020
Kishwar initially apologised to officials on the social media platform.
Dear @KolkataPolice, I have never knowingly indulged in spreading fake news.
I deleted it the moment a friend called & alerted me.
This video was sent to me by an otherwise reliable friend.
My sincere apologies for having forwarded it, mistaking procession in Dacca for Kolkatta https://t.co/S4cz4pY7Rp— Madhu Purnima Kishwar (@madhukishwar) November 9, 2020
But just hours later stated that the “issues being raised by the video are not fake.”
Video is not fake.
The issues being raised by the video are also not fake.
The forces that are raising those issues are globally networked, cutting across national boundaries
So whether that procession was in Dhaka or Kolkata, it’s implications are the same for India &the world https://t.co/n6rWMOdjyo— Madhu Purnima Kishwar (@madhukishwar) November 10, 2020
A part of the song lyrics criticises India for allegedly “taking a stand against Islam.” This bit likely caught the attention of the right-wing ‘activist’ whose verified Twitter handle has over 20 lakh followers.
Prior to the 1990s, fellow activists and academicians praised Kishwar for her work. However, they dissociated from her once she began embracing Hindutva ideology. Kishwar is also known for her admiration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi whom she compared with Mahatma Gandhi. She also wrote a book absolving him – a then prime-ministerial candidate – of any involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots and called him a “non-communal politician” despite severely criticising him in earlier days.
On November 10, 2019, SabrangIndia had also flagged her for making inflammatory tweets a day after the Babri Masjid verdict was pronounced.
Her Twitter account has been flagged many times for propagating communal material and fake news on multiple occasions – a fact that Supreme Court lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan pointed out immediately on sharing the Kolkata Fake News Alert.
Great. These fake news & hate news spreaders must be brought to account. This lady is a serial offender https://t.co/hmQouJV2TB
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) November 9, 2020
Dear @madhukishwar Ji, please get reliable friends ?? pic.twitter.com/GAt5V1punF
— Akash Banerjee (@TheDeshBhakt) November 9, 2020
Related:
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No ‘Muslim regiment’ in the first place: Former civil servants seek investigation into fake news
Can’t restrict circulation of fake news on social media: MP High Court
Watch: Samirul Islam on how fake news is changing the narrative in Bengal