Video of BJP critic warning journalist about reporting against govt shared as BJP leader’s threat

An 82-second-clip of a man speaking to a reporter from Times of Today, a digital news portal, is circulating on social media. Facebook user Sukhwinder Singh posted the video with the message, “GUNDA GARDI…”. The post has garnered close to 14,000 shares. It is also being shared with the claim that the man is a leader associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party. “BJP party leader threatening journalist in Uthar Pradesh”, reads the caption shared by a Facebook user.

A few users on Twitter and Facebook shared the video with the identical narrative. It begins with the man saying, “आपके सवाल से हमको लगता है कि आपको अपने परिवार-वरिवार से डर-वर नहीं लगता है क्या? आप किसके शाशनकाल में और किसके विरोध में सवाल कर रहे हैं, ये आप नहीं समझ रहें है। मैं बता दे रहा हूँ, शायद भूल गए होंगे। आप पुराने हिंदुस्तान में नहीं जी रहे हैं। आप बदलते हुए हिंदुस्तान में जी रहे हैं। यहाँ जो है नरेंद्र मोदीजी जो प्रधानमंत्री है। जिस प्रदेश में आप सवाल कर रहे हैं, यहाँ का प्रदेश का जो मुख्यमंत्री है उसको योगी आदित्यनाथ कहतें हैं। परिवार के ऊपर रहम करो यार। सरकार और भारतीय जनता पार्टी के खिलाफ सवाल दागना बंद करो पंकज, नहीं तो किसी ना किसी किनारे कोने पर गौरी लंकेश के भाई बनकर के पड़े रह जाओगे। नहीं तो दूसरा एकठो पत्रकार था मिर्ज़ापुर में, एकदम सही रिपोर्ट दिखाया था, गरीब बच्चों को मिड-डे मील में रोटी और नमक मिल रहा था। वो जेल चला गया। यार थोड़ा सा अंजना ओम कश्यपजी का भाई बनो। आपको हम एक नशीहत देते है, सरकार के खिलाफ सवाल करने वाले लोग मारे जा रहें हैं। हमको आपके ऊपर तरस आता है। ठीक है आपकी भावनाएँ बहुत अच्छी है, देश में आप आम जनता के पक्ष में सवाल करते हो। आपको मेरी पूरी शुभकामनाएं। लेकिन इस देश में वाजिब सवाल करने वालो के हत्या कर दी जाती है, उनको मौत के घाट उतार दिया जाता है।”

Translation: From your question I feel that you don’t fear for your family, do you? You don’t understand in whose rule and against whom are you asking this question. I will tell you, you may have forgotten. You are not living in the old India. You are living in changing India. Here Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister. The state in which you are asking the question. The very state whose Chief Minister is called Yogi Adityanath. Please think about your family. Stop shooting questions against the government and Bharatiya Janata Party. Otherwise Pankaj [the reporter], you will be found lying near a corner of some bank like a brother of Gauri Lankesh. Else, there was one journalist in Mirzapur, who did an accurate report about students from poor economic background being fed with Salt and roti. He was sent to jail. Be a brother of Anjana Om Kashyap. I am giving you an advice, the people who ask question against the government are being killed. I feel sorry for you. It’s okay, your emotions are good that you want to question in favour of the general public. My good wishes are with you. But in this country, the one who questions are getting murdered. They are being put to death.

Alt News has also received several requests on its official app to fact-check the video.

Fact-check

We found the full interview posted on the YouTube channel of Times of Today on November 16, 2019. The man who is being interviewed by the reporter in the video is Harish Mishra, former district president of Seva Dal, a grassroots frontal organization of the Congress.

At 1:26 mins, after the promo in the extended video, the reporter can be heard introducing the man as Harish Mishra.

The reporter at 11:39 mins in the video, the reporter asks Mishra, “किसान लगातार आत्महत्या कर रहे है। किसानों के बारे में क्या सोच रही है बीजेपी गवर्नमेंट। (Farmers are continuously committing suicide. What is the BJP government thinking about the farmers? -translated)”

To which Misra responds in Sarcasm: “पंकज जी, किसानों के बात पर तो हम आपको जवाब दे ही देंगे लेकिन आपके सवाल से हमको लगता है कि आपको अपने परिवार-वरिवार से डर-वर नहीं लगता है क्या? आप किसके शाशनकाल में और किसके विरोध में सवाल कर रहे है, ये आप नहीं समझ रहें है। मैं बता दे रहा हूँ, शायद भूल गए होंगे।………. फिर आपने कहा किसान की बात। Pankajji, I’ll surely respond to your question on the farmers [suicide] but from your question I feel that you don’t fear for your family, do you? You don’t understand in whose rule and against whom are you asking this question. I will tell you, you may have forgotten. [continues………] then you said what about farmers.”

We looked for Mishra’s Facebook profile and found that he had shared the same video. It may be noted that later in the clip, Mishra can be heard praising the Congress party and eulogising about the party’s contribution to the nation. When the reporter asked Mishra about the party from which he will contest in the UP state assembly election [while giving a choice of Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party or INC], he said, “I will fight from any party which is against the BJP.”

In conclusion, a clipped video of a political leader formerly associated with Congress Seva Dal, in which he was expressing his criticism of the BJP government with regards to the freedom of the press, is being shared as a BJP leader threatening a journalist with dire consequences for reporting against the establishment.