In an endeavour to gain publicity and political mileage, a party worker belonging to the Samajwadi party hired bouncers to guard the tomatoes in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, Varanasi. Presently, the price of tomatoes has skyrocketed. The matter was apparently reported by the Press Trust of India (PTI) on twitter. However, little were they aware at that point of time that the vegetable seller owned had political lineage and they expressed regret for filing this story.
Vegetable Seller Recorded Video with Bouncers Guarding Tomatoes
The vegetable seller, Ajay Fauji, who also runs a grocery shop apparently posted the video on various social media platforms showcasing the bouncers guarding the tomatoes. Fauji was of the view that he hired the bouncers so that the customers do not create any ruckus and prevent them from indulging in any unwanted haggling of tomato prices.
While speaking to PTI, Fauji had said that he had heard about people arguing over the rising tomato prices and in order to bring an end to such arguments, Fauji hired the bouncers. He, however, refused to divulge at what price he had hired the bouncers.
Fauji’s intention of hiring bouncers and having some sinister motive was evident from the fact that he had also placed a placard mentioning the rising prices of commodities over the last “nine years.” This clearly indicated that he was targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government at the centre.
PTI Pulls Down Tweet – Expresses Regret for not Verifying antecedents of the source for the story
The Press Trust of India, a prominent news agency, pulled down the tweet and expressed regret for filing the vegetable vendor with a bouncer’s story. In their tweet they said, “Earlier today, PTI tweeted a story about a vegetable vendor in Varanasi hiring bouncers in light of the high price of tomatoes. It has since come to our notice that the vendor is a worker of the Samajwadi Party, and his motive for giving us the information was questionable. We have, therefore, removed the tweet. We erred in not verifying the antecedents of the source for the story, and failed to meet the high standards of accuracy and fairness we set for ourselves. We assure our readers that PTI remains committed to delivering accurate and unbiased news.”
Vegetable Seller in Varanasi Arrested
According to police, they have arrested Ajay Fauji and a case has been filed against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. Police has alleged that Fauji did this for seeking publicity
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