The fake report by a regional newspaper comes in wake that 25,000 soldiers of the Indian army have decided to return their Shaurya Chakra medals to show solidarity with farmers’ protest. The news was covered in a Telugu newspaper, Prajasakti.
The report claims that Shaurya Chakra Medals were returned to express solidarity with the farmers.
Press Information Bureau (PIB)’s fact-check debunked the claim that the information reported in Prajasakti is fake.
However, no such thing has happened. The government’s fact-checking arm, PIB dubbed the report as fake and clarified that only 2048 Shaurya Chakra medals have been awarded from 1956 till 2019. So, the claim is not only fake but also factually incorrect.
The Ministry of Defence has also released a press note in which they said that the report published in a Telugu newspaper named Prajashakti on December 15, 2020, was false.
MoD said, “This is completely false, utterly baseless and malicious in nature and aimed at damaging the reputation, honour and pride of our valiant defence forces. In fact, between 1956 to 2019, the actual number of Shaurya Chakras awarded stood at 2,048.”
MoD further cautioned the media to verify facts and desist from publishing such blatantly false and malicious news.
It is clarified that between 1956 and 2019, 2,048 soldiers have received Shaurya Chakras for their valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice.
