No, Obama has not taken sides in India’s farm protests

© Getty Images
Farmers in India have been protesting given that late November

Protests by farmers in India about new pricing regulations exhibit no signal of abating.

The dispute has become really politicised, with lots of 1000’s of farmers blocking access roads close to the capital Delhi with their tractors and other equipment.

Both equally sides have sought to management the social media narrative, and we have taken a glance at attempts to spread misinformation about very well-regarded personalities takings sides in the dispute.

Did Obama say meeting Modi was ‘shameful’?

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Our very first case in point is a claim concerning previous US President Barack Obama, who met Indian Key Minister Narendra Modi on a selection of instances when he was in business.

Social media posts have appeared which show a photo of the two adult males together, with Mr Obama now apparently voicing his regret about conference Mr Modi at the White Dwelling in 2014.

Some of these posts have hashtags exhibiting aid for the farmers’ protests.

The image is actual adequate and it is from an precise conference among the two adult men that year.

However, the Twitter write-up is faux. The textual content is composed in weak English with a spelling blunder, and President Obama’s Twitter profile seems to have been edited on to it.

And a check out back through Mr Obama’s Twitter timeline displays that there is no this kind of tweet by him considering the fact that the protests commenced past month.

Justin Trudeau in a ‘show of solidarity’?

The subsequent a person is about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who’s been included in a controversy just after he voiced problem about the Indian government’s reaction to the demonstrations.

This gained a community rebuke from the Indian federal government.

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That difficulty apart, some men and women took to social media to circulate what is a deceptive graphic of Mr Trudeau, declaring it confirmed him sitting down with a group of Sikhs (lots of of India’s farmers are Sikhs) in a show of solidarity.

Canada has a significant Indian-origin inhabitants, which include many Sikhs.

But this graphic is deceptive, for the reason that it is at minimum 5 several years outdated.

This was verified to the BBC by the primary minister’s business office, who pointed out that Mr Trudeau now sports activities a beard, while the graphic shows him beardless.

It really is from a check out he manufactured in November 2015 to a Sikh spiritual centre in Ottowa. There is a neighborhood information report at the time about the take a look at.

No matter what Mr Trudeau’s views are on the current protests in India, this picture has been utilised out of its right context.

A senior Indian minister has not switched sides

It may possibly come as a shock to discover that Rajnath Singh, a senior authorities member and ruling BJP (Bharatiya Janata Celebration) stalwart, essentially supports the farmers’ protests.

Which is what a video clip executing the rounds on social media claims to exhibit.

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In the online video, Mr Singh, who is defence minister, can be heard saying: “Had I recognized about this protest before, I would have occur right here and extended my help the pretty identical day”.

Some posts that link to this movie declare the farmers’ agitation has uncovered a “major break up inside of the BJP”.

But a Google research reveals that this is an old video clip from 2013, when Mr Singh was in opposition and was supporting farmers versus the then Congress-led federal government.

Mr Singh gave a speech at that time, backing their requires for a steady supply of earnings, and it truly is offered on his formal internet site.

It’s well worth incorporating that Mr Singh, a former agricultural minister from a farming background, stated in Oct that the latest authorities “would not do everything in opposition to the farmers’ interests”.

Is Punjab’s major politician doing the job in opposition to the farmers?

Our final instance is about Congress bash politician Amarinder Singh, who is the main minister of Punjab condition where lots of farmers occur from, and Mukesh Ambani, 1 of India’s very best-acknowledged business tycoons.

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Social media posts with an graphic of the two adult men shaking arms claim – incorrectly – that they achieved just a working day right before the farmers began a nationwide shutdown to press their requires.

The textual content in one particular publish asks: “On a single hand, the Congress supports the agitating farmers and on the other meets industrialists these types of as Mr Ambani… what sort of politics is this?”

The implication is that Mr Singh – in spite of his party’s public assistance for the farmers – is doing work with private business passions, who might stand to profit from the variations to the farming regulations.

But this picture is a few decades previous, from Oct 2017, when Mr Singh met Mr Ambani to examine expense options in Punjab.

And it is really also incorrect to assert – as the social media posts do – that Mr Singh has approved a recent proposal from the governing administration – rejected by the farmers – to dilute some provisions in the new farming guidelines.

Mr Singh has continued to help their need for a total repeal of the new guidelines.

© BBC

© BBC

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