Zee News apologised on Saturday after airing Rahul Gandhi’s comments about the murders in Udaipur but misrepresenting them as being about that incident.
Gandhi’s comments on the destruction of his constituency office in Wayanad, Kerala, were misrepresented as being made during the murder on the channel’s DNA primetime programme. Rohit Ranjan, the anchor, stated that Gandhi had made “shocking” comments regarding the incident in Udaipur before airing the clip. Ranjan said, “He claimed that he is not furious with them while calling the accused in the Udaipur murder.
Rahul Gandhi was talking about the people who vandalized his wayanad office but @ZeeNews anchor twisted his statement with #Udaipurincident . Is there anyone from @INCIndia who can take action on zee news?? @SpiritOfCongres @RoflGandhi_ @AltNews @free_thinker @srinivasiyc pic.twitter.com/f9O0AriARt
— Chunkey ponkey (@Chunkyponkey) July 1, 2022
False claim
कल हमारे शो DNA में राहुल गांधी का बयान उदयपुर की घटना से जोड़ कर ग़लत संदर्भ में चल गया था, ये एक मानवीय भूल थी जिसके लिए हमारी टीम क्षमाप्रार्थी हैं, हम इसके लिए खेद जताते हैं pic.twitter.com/YGs7kfbKKi
— Rohit Ranjan (@irohitr) July 2, 2022
The apology
Gandhi also makes reference to recent violent incidents in the nation in the video, saying, “The environment in the nation has been created by the current dispensation.”
Gandhi is heard saying shortly after, “The kids who did this… they acted in a reckless way. They are children, and I don’t believe they are aware of the repercussions of doing things of this nature, so I don’t feel any hate or hostility toward them.
The channel apologised for airing the clip in the incorrect context in a daily bulletin on Saturday.
At least 25 members of the Students Federation of India, the student arm of the ruling CPIM, were held by Kerala police last week when they marched to Gandhi’s Wayanad office to protest the Congress’ alleged disregard for a Supreme Court rule requiring buffer zones around forests.
