Two FIRs has been registered against The Wire Founder-Editor Siddharth Varadarajan for spreading fake news against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Varadarajan, in a bid to whitewash the deeds of Tablighi Jamaat, had wrongly attributed a fake quote to the UP CM.

Mrityunjay Kumar, the media advisor to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, informed that despite the warning from the state government, Varadarajan neither deleted the false article and nor apologised for the same. Therefore, an FIR has been registered against him and actions been taken as warned earlier. “If you are also thinking about Yogi government kindly remove such thinking from your brain”, Kumar warned others about spreading fake news about UP govt.

As soon as the news of Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin emerged as the newest hotspot for coronavirus outbreak, the ‘liberals’ huddled up to absolve the congregation of defying orders and putting public health and safety at risk.

At 12:45 AM on 31 March 2020, The Wire Founder-Editor Siddharth Varadarajan tweeted a link claiming that the Nehru Stadium in Delhi will be converted into quarantine facility. While sharing it, Varadarajan attributed a quote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Varadarajan claimed that on the day Tablighi Jamaat event was being held, “Adityanath insisted a large Ram Navami fair planned for Ayodhya from March 25 to April 2 would proceed as usual and that ‘Lord Ram would protect devotees from the coronavirus”.

Siddharth Varadarajan’s tweet attributing fake quote to Yogi Adityanath

The Founder-Editor of The Wire took quotes of an expelled mahant and misattributed them to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to whitewash the Tablighi Jamaat superspreaders.

After Varadarjan’s tweet, Mrityunjay Kumar had tweeted saying that CM Yogi Adityanath has not made any such comment. ‘Delete it else actions will be taken against it and defamation proceedings will also be initiated. After that you will be forced to beg for donations for legal case along with donations for the website’, the CM’s media adviser had tweeted referring to The Wire asking for donations from the public.

The second FIR was filed in Ayodhya police station for the fake tweet posted by the Wire editor. The FIR filed by one Harbhajan Gaud says that Varadarjan had posted the fake tweet to defame UP CM Yogi Adityanath and the Uttar Pradesh govt.

The Tablighi Jamaat has emerged as the latest hotspot after dozens of COVID-19 positive cases were traced back to Nizamuddin in Delhi where hundreds of Muslims had gathered on 21 March 2020 for three-day Islamic evangelical event. As of 1st April, 2100 Muslims were evacuated from the building in Nizamuddin and sent to isolation ward. Investigation is currently underway and efforts are being made to trace those who had attended as well as those who had come in contact with them.