Rajat Sharma of India TV has once again found himself at the receiving end Twitterati lashed out at him for allegedly giving communal colour to a coronavirus victim in Maharashtra’s Nagpur. This was after Sharma tweeted about the death of a man of COVID-19 in Nagpur. This came days after a veteran journalist lashed out at him for a similar attempt to communalise the gathering of migrant workers in Mumbai’s Bandra recently.
Sharma had written in a tweet recently, “Abdul Latif of Nagpur hid corona. After his death it emerged that he had infected his sons, daughter-in-law, brother, sister-in-law, daughters, son-in-law, grandsons and the whole family. Even his friends, who met him unknowingly fell victims. In total, 55 positive cases have come and reports for 144 more are yet to come. People of Nagpur are surprised.”
No sooner did Sharma shared his tweet, he began to face incessant trolling for his emphasis on the religious identity of the corona victim. One user summed up when she wrote, “Your news and tweet show that you must be seeing Muslims even your dream.”
Here is how they reacted:
तुम्हारी न्यूज़ औऱ ट्वीट देखकर तो लगता है सपने में भी मुसलमान आते होंगे।
— शिल्पा राजपूत ~ भारतीय ?? (@Shilpa_Bhartiy) April 23, 2020
रजत दलाल आपको इस देश में सिर्फ अब्दुल लतीफ
ही नजर आयाऔर दुबई से आए सुरेश 100 से ज्यादा लोगों को
कोरोना किया वो आपको नजर नहीं आयारजत दलाल इतनी पक्षपाती पत्रकारिता भी मत करो जो लोग आपको पत्रकार कम दलाल ज्यादा समझे pic.twitter.com/sgImiOroe9
— mohd Hashim ik (@MD___hashim) April 23, 2020
मध्यप्रदेश के श्योपुर में गंगाराम का बेटा बाहर से आया था जिसकी जांच के लिए मेडिकल टीम पुलिसकर्मियों के साथ गंगाराम के घर पहुंची तो स्वास्थ्यकर्मियों व पुलिस पर पथराव कर दिया,जिसमें एक एसआई बुरी तरह घायल हो चुका है,हमलावर किसी भी धर्म के हो कड़ी से कड़ी सज़ा दे सरकार।
— Zakir Ali Tyagi (@ZakirAliTyagi) April 23, 2020
ऐसी कैसी ट्रेनिंग मिली होगी इन महाशय को कि सारे देश में एक अब्दुल लतीफ ही नज़र आया इन्हें?
क्या इनका मुरैना में कवारण्टाइन किये 26000 लोगों पर कोई ट्वीट आया?
क्या इनका दुबई से लौटे सुरेश पर कोई ट्वीट आया जिसकी वजह से 3000 लोगों की बस्ती सील करनी पड़ी है?कभी तो पत्रकार बनो ना!!
— True Indian (@TrueInd26978997) April 23, 2020
कोरोना संक्रमित लोगों की पहचान सार्वजनिक करना भारतीय दंड संहिता के अनुसार गुनाह नहीं हैं क्या? @RajatSharmaLive धार्मिक सौहाद्र बिगाड़ने और साम्प्रदायिक तनाव पैदा करने की कोशिश कर रहा हैं। @NagpurPolice
— Vikas Meshram (@Vikas_Meshram72) April 23, 2020
Many were quick to slam Sharma for his hypocrisy when they asked why he had not posted a similar tweet by revealing the religious identity of Suresh, who had organised a feast for 1500 people in Madhya Pradesh despite being tested positive for coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh. The authorities had to place the entire neighbourhood under quarantine.
Veteran journalist Nikhil Wagle had recently lashed out at Sharma for giving communal colour to the protest by migrant workers in Mumbai’s Bandra recently. This was in response to Sharma’s emphasis on ‘jama masjid (grand mosque)’ in his tweet posted soon after the visuals of hundreds of workers protesting near Bandra station went viral. Wagle had called Sharma ‘shameless.’
