Old pictures of the anti-CAA protests with burning buses flooded social media with hashtags running “#BengalViolence” and #PresidentRuleInBengal”. An Unrelated video passed off as TMC men attacking cops in Bengal post-poll violence.
While violence did break out with violence from TMC and BJP parties, the details of the violence have been twisted and exaggerated, presumably by the BJP wing to defame the TMC government which just won a major victory in the Bengal elections.
Soon after the results of the assembly elections were announced on May 2, several political workers, largely of Opposition parties, BJP and TMC had been killed or injured, and party offices, houses, and shops targeted according to reports.
Also on social media, there was a video showing a mob attacking a police van alleging that the Trinamool Congress supporters attacked cops who tried to stop the post-poll clashes. The caption with the video says, “#PresidentRuleInBengal Policeman came to control the situation & then TMC goons attacks on Police. #tmcgoons #BengalViolence”.
Pratik Sinha from Alt News shared this photo: “Photo from CAA protests shared as an image representing violence in Bengal. Beware of misinformation around Bengal, images, and videos that do not represent the current spate of violence are being shared to inflame emotions. [Fact-checked by
@aqib_starlin
Photo from CAA protests shared as an image representing violence in Bengal. Beware of misinformation around Bengal, images and videos that do not represent the current spate of violence are being shared to inflame emotions. [Fact-checked by @aqib_starlin] pic.twitter.com/N3tNZfYf4P
— Pratik Sinha (@free_thinker) May 5, 2021
It is suspected that the BJP government was attempting to portray violence in Bengal in order to enable President’s rule in Bengal and curb Mamata Banerjee from becoming chief minister because the post-poll violence would not benefit TMC who has won the elections!
Fact check link from India Today