A set of two images of rotis, embossed with Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar stamp, has resurfaced with claims that they were distributed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), during the ongoing nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The photographs are from 2014, when a dhaba in Uttar Pradesh dished out rotis with the popular BJP campaign slogan stamped on them, ahead of the general elections that year.
The images, which are a closeup of an embossed roti and another where one of the three rotis are being stamped with the Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar slogan, are viral with netizens accusing the government of allegedly carrying out marketing gimmicks during a crisis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a countrywide lockdown on March 24 as a preventive measure to curb the transmission of the novel Coronavirus. The government further enforced a series of regulations to restrict movement in the country and practise social distancing to help flatten the curve of the spread of the SARS-CoV2, the virus which causes the deadly disease.
The set of images are captioned as, "Friends, see how much I can stoop. We will make the bread of the hungry, a source of publicity." (Original caption in Hindi: मित्रों, तुम मेरे गिरने की हद तो देखो, हम भूखों की रोटी को भी प्रचार का साधन बना लेंगें ). The image is viral on Facebook as well as Twitter .
भाइयो बहनो,
— Reena Mimrot (@MimrotReena) April 2, 2020
तुम मेरे गिरने की बेहद सी हद तो देखो !
हम भूखों की रोटी को भी प्रचार का साधन बना लेंगें !! pic.twitter.com/yu66vbGFXP
Fact Check
BOOM reverse searched the image and found that the photo is from 2014 when a roadside eatery in Banaras, Yadav Hotel, started serving therotis to its customers. The restaurant soon stopped, after receiving a warning from the cops. According to a report in NDTV ,India, the rotis were made in Yadav Hotel, Chauka Ghat, for a few days, until the administration took notice of it and ordered that they stop serving the same. The news bulletin quoted one of the restaurant staff as saying, "The rotis were popular but now the administration has stopped it. They have threatened us that they will take away our machine. The Congress party is also complaining against the rotis."
Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar was a slogan by the BJP, that was used extensively during the 2014 general elections, which the Bharatiya Janata Party won with a large mandate.
The report can be seen here.
The same was reported in Hindi daily Jagran.