Rajasthan IAS officer Sanjay Dixit is not new to controversy and spreading fake news to push the agenda of right-wing Hindutva agenda. Many have condemned his action calling it unbecoming of a civil servant, but those feedback have had very little impact on the controversial IAS officer’s action.
Dixit was on Sunday caught spreading fake news in a bid to stir up communal tension. Dixit, in his now deleted tweet (see below), had posted a letter passing it off as an official communication by the Mamata Banerjee government. According to the government ‘order, the Eid holiday this year was extended to five days.
Dixit chose to post the tweet with defamatory and communal slur against the West Bengal government, almost 12 hours after the Kolkata Police had termed the ‘order’ fake. Dixit, in his tweet, called Mamata Banerjee government ‘Islamic State of West Bangladesh.’ He wrote, “Meanwhile, Islamic State of West Bangladesh declares the longest Eid holiday ever- a full 5 days of free salary and compulsory holiday for the faithful and infidel alike.”
Dixit’s perceived mischief came nearly 12 hours after Kolkata Police tweeted the following clarification; “A fake notification is doing the rounds in social media about Eid Holidays. It is false. Those who have masterminded this will be strictly dealt with as per law.”
A fake notification is doing the rounds in social media about Eid Holidays. It is false. Those who have masterminded this will be strictly dealt with as per law. pic.twitter.com/y5rRAa7QDP
— Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) June 10, 2018
Trinamool Congress functionary and a party spokesperson, Garga Chaterjee, took dim view of Dixit’s attempt spread fake news in a bid to cause ‘hatred between religious communities in Bengal.’ Urging police take serious action against the Rajasthan IAS officer, Chatterjee wrote, “”Person claiming to be an IAS officer is circulating a fake document adding own words designed to produce hatred between religious communities in Bengal. I urge @WBPolice and @KolkataPolice to take serious note & proceed accordingly.”
Person claiming to be an IAS officer is circulating a fake document adding own words designed to produce hatred between religious communities in Bengal. I urge @WBPolice and @KolkataPolice to take serious note & proceed accordingly. @MamataOfficial @derekobrienmp @abhishekaitc https://t.co/Bgl5dPIru5
— Garga Chatterjee (@GargaC) June 10, 2018
Dixit is a habitual peddler of fake news to push Hindutva agenda. He’s had to face condemnation both from public and police alike for his passion to spread fake news. In March this year, Mumbai Police had caught Dixit spreading fake news, published by a right-wing propaganda website. Mumbai Police were quick to declare that Dixit was indulging in fake news propaganda. The official Twitter handle of Mumbai cops, which is also known for its quirky posts, had given a public dressing down to Dixit in its own inimitable style. It wrote, “Poor general knowledge alert! Poor research alert! Careless tweeting alert! Let us know after U finish researching, if U could manage finding which city’s Police this is! Clue- NOT one of us! Disclaimer : Mumbai Police neither organised such event nor was part it.”
In August last year, Dixit had faced public roasting after he posted a fake news from his Twitetr handle. His action caused widespread outrage with Karnataka government issuing an instant rebuttal making it clear that the tweet posted by Dixit was fake.
Dixit, known for posting pro-Hindutva and anti-Islam tweets despite being in active government service, had posted a news from fake propaganda website, Postcard News, accusing the Karnataka government of charging ‘Rs 10 lakhs to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi.’ Fearing a trouble for himself for defaming an elected government by using a fake news, Dixit later deleted his tweet.