Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale tweeted fake news about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Gujarat’s Morbi to get political mileage, alleged the first information report against him on Tuesday, reported PTI.
Gokhale was detained on Monday in Rajasthan’s Jaipur by the Gujarat Police for a tweet he had posted about the collapse of a suspension bridge in Morbi. He was later formally arrested after being brought to Ahmedabad.
The Trinamool Congress spokesperson was sent to police custody till December 8.
On December 1, Gokhale had shared a news clipping about a purported Right to Information application which claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Morbi after the tragedy cost Rs 30 crore. However, on the same day, the Press Information Bureau tweeted a fact check saying that the information was fake.
The news clipping appeared to be from local newspaper Gujarat Samachar, according to PTI.
“When we contacted Gujarat Samachar, the management told us this news was never published and it was totally fake and created by someone to look authentic,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) Jitendra Jadhav said.
The prime minister had visited Morbi on November 1, a day after the bridge on the Machchu river collapsed, leaving 141 people dead.
On Tuesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Gokhale had made no mistake and that he had been arrested due to the “vindictive attitude” of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She described Gokhale as a “very bright man” and said that he is very popular on social media.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien said the action against Gokhale cannot silence the Trinamool Congress and the Opposition parties. The BJP, the Rajya Sabha MP said, is taking political vendetta to another level.
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