NDTV India’s misleading tweet claims a BJP Minister cried in a press meet for farmers’ plight.
Some reporters too use the tweet to make similar claims. But, the Minister cried as his friend had just died.
Claim
Seeing these tears of the Union Minister for the farmers, the chest is bursting! #Farmersprotest
Rating
Explanation
There have been an ongoing farmers’ protest in Buxar with various demands. The primary of these demands is the better compensation for their land which is being acquired for Chausa Power Plant. The protest is also reported to be triggered by the acquisition of land of around 300 farmers is underway for rail corridor and water pipeline projects of the thermal power plant. The protest has been going on for various days now.
A video of Ashwini Chaubey crying in a press meet is being shared by the NDTV India on Twitter with a claim that the minister wept for farmers during a press conference on 16th January 2023.
बिहार: किसानों की बात करते हुए फफक-फफक कर रो पड़े केंद्रीय मंत्री अश्विनी चौबे, कहा- बहुत दुखी हूं pic.twitter.com/JtRI1LgP8j
— NDTV India (@ndtvindia) January 16, 2023
Using this tweet, some journalists such as Prabhakar Mishra and Vineet Tripathi have made similar claims.
यकीनन विपक्ष अच्छे से काम नहीं कर रहा है वरना किसानों की ये हालत नहीं होती और एक केंद्रीय मंत्री को रोना नहीं पड़ता https://t.co/yZPwKIieQe
— Vineet Tripathi (@VineetTripathi_) January 17, 2023
What’s the truth?
In our keyword search, we came across an article from the Hindustan Times titled “Why Ashwini Choubey broke down during a press conference.” The article mentions that the minister was giving a press conference about the farmers’ protest in Buxar and the Bihar’s Mahagathbandhan Government’s response to the protest.
During the press meet, the minister received the news that his friend Parshuram Chaturvedi had died of a sudden heart attack. Ashwini Choubey mentions that Parshuram Chaturvedi was with him during the hunger strikes that he had conducted in the previous three days. He wept inconsolably due to the sudden demise and loss of his friend.
Upon further search, we found that several other news outlets have reported the minister’s emotional break down during the press conference due to the death of his friend. See here, here and here.
पटना: फूट-फूट कर रोए केंद्रीय राज्यमंत्री अश्विनी चौबे, सहयोगी परशुराम चतुर्वेदी की मौत से हुए आहत @AshwiniKChoubey pic.twitter.com/SPmSmQ8qbz
— Zee Bihar Jharkhand (@ZeeBiharNews) January 16, 2023
Conclusion
In our search, we found that the Union Minister of State Ashwini Choubey cried during a press conference due to the sudden death of friend, but the clip of him crying is shared in social media with misleading claims that the minister had cried for formers’ plight.
