BJP Amit Shah joined Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami in peddling fake news while seeking votes for his party along religious lines in Telangana on Sunday. Speaking at a rally in Narayanpet in Telangana, Shah accused the Congress of promising free electricity for mosques and churches in the state.
Shah said, “On one hand the TRS promises to give reservation to minorities in government jobs, on the other hand the Congress talks about giving reservation to minorities in government contracts. Congress party says that the electricity bill of mosques and churches will be taken care of by the Telangana government. We don’t have any objections in that promise, but why would you not foot the electricity bills of temples?”
LIVE: Shri @AmitShah addresses public meeting in Narayanpet, Telangana. #SaffronTelangana https://t.co/R2VvqYbokY
— BJP (@BJP4India) December 2, 2018
Shah’s false allegations against the Congress received applause from the audience with many not realising that the BJP president’s allegations were fake. It seems Shah was reading from the script given to him by Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami.
Not too long ago, Arnab Goswami had faced public shaming for peddling fake news on the so-called Congress manifesto. This is what the Republic TV website wrote quoting Goswami;
“Before it was caught red-handed, the Congress had decided in its manifesto in Telangana that there must be hospitals in which only Muslims are admitted. So, if you are a Hindu, Sikh or a Buddhist, you cannot be admitted to a only Muslim hospital and unless you are a Muslim then no doctor will see you. And regardless what your condition is–whether you are in emergency situation or not–if you are a Hindu then you will be told to get out of the hospital. That’s the Congress Party’s plan. The Congress also decided that there should be free electricity for Mosques and Churches exclusively but no free electricity for in Hindu temples or Sikh Gurudwaras. And when it was caught red-handed, the Congress had also decided that Muslim youth must get special consideration in jobs over Hindu youth or Sikh youths or other non-Muslim youth. Only Muslim youth should get special consideration in jobs. And the Congress further in the manifesto wanted to make Urdu the second language in Telangana and also this is important, look at the levels of discrimination, say that Muslim students should be given a massive 20 lakh Rupee lone each for higher studies. Only for Muslim youth and not for Hindu youth–only Muslim. This template and plan of the Congress which the pseudo-liberals don not want to talk about is essentially aimed at making India in the long run–a Muslim first country–starting with Telangana. Muslim first Telangana and then Muslim first India. Muslim first, other minorities later and Hindus last. The fact that this is in an official election manifesto makes the plan clear. Go all out and be the party for Muslim even if that means making all other and Hindus second-class citizens, don’t hesitate to do so. I ask you tonight Who does Rahul Gandhi thinks he is to make India a Muslim fist nation? We cannot be Muslim first and we cannot be Hindu first. No other religion, not Islam not Hinduism.”
Contrary to the fake claims made by Goswami and Shah, the Congress manifesto for Telangana promises to reserve 50% works in government contracts for those youth who participated in the Telangana movement. It also promised to reserve 50% works for youth belonging to SC/ST communities, who took part in the Telangana movement.
In the last segment, the manifesto said that Muslim youth too will be given opportunities in government contracts ‘so as to provide them employment.’ Both Shah and Arnab projected the sentence from the manifesto in isolation making it sound like a Muslim-only manifesto by the Congress.
On the free electricity claims, the manifesto says that ‘free power supply will be given to all temples, mosques, churches and other places of worship.’ But both Arnab and Shah deliberately decided to not mention ‘temple’ to project the Congress party as an anti-Hindu political outfit.
On the fake news related to Muslim-only government hospitals, as claimed by Arnab Goswami and Shah, the Congress manifesto promises to set up hospitals in minority-dominated areas. Nowhere did the manifesto say that non-Muslim patients will be discriminated.