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These days, the era of statements and their fact checking is going on rapidly in Indian politics. A recent statement given by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has heated up the political atmosphere in the country. Rahul Gandhi had claimed from a public forum that the poison of caste discrimination is spread even in the tea shops and taperies of the country. According to his claim, people from the Dalit community are given separate plastic or disposable cups to drink tea, while others are served tea in glass glasses or cups. As soon as this sensational statement came out, a heated debate broke out from social media to Parliament whether this kind of discrimination really happens in the everyday life of the common Indian society and at tea stalls. After this allegation, the war of words intensified in the political circles and the question arose whether such statements which widen the gap in the society are being made to make political gains.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari reached Connaught Place and did ‘Ground Zero’ fact check
To test the truth of this claim of Rahul Gandhi and to bring the ground reality before the country, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari himself came into the field. Without wasting any time, Pradeep Bhandari went straight to Connaught Place, a posh and busy area of New Delhi, where he got a taste of the reality by visiting a common tea stall. He made a video of this entire process and shared it on his official social media platforms ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, which went viral on the internet in no time. At the beginning of the video, Pradeep Bhandari also added a clip of Rahul Gandhi’s original statement in which he had alleged caste discrimination. After this he directly talked to the tea seller at whose shop common people come to drink tea every day. This on-ground reporting blew the lid off Rahul Gandhi’s claim of dividing the society on the basis of castes.
Tea seller Monu Gautam flatly rejected all the allegations of Rahul Gandhi.
The tea shop in Connaught Place where the BJP spokesperson reached is run by a person named ‘Monu Gautam’. The most interesting and noteworthy thing is that tea seller Monu Gautam himself belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. Pradeep Bhandari asked very direct and clear questions to Monu Gautam, to which the shopkeeper answered boldly. When Bhandari asked whether he gives cups or glasses to the customers visiting his shop considering their caste, Monu Gautam clearly denied it and said, “No, no, not at all.” Apart from this, when asked about the prices of tea and the customers coming there, the shopkeeper told that tea is sold at his shop for Rs 20, 25, 30 and 40 and people from every society, class and profession of the country come here and sip tea without any discrimination.
Understand what is the reality of the cups used at tea shops?
During the video, when the reality of the cups and glasses kept at the shops was examined, it became clear that there is no caste discrimination behind having different types of cups. A large number of disposable and reused (glass or steel) cups were kept on the counter. Conversations between shopkeepers and customers revealed that the choice of cup completely depends on the customer’s personal preference, convenience, hygiene needs and the variety of tea. Many people ask for disposable glasses due to hygiene reasons, while some people like to drink tea in glass cups. This has nothing to do with caste or religion at all. This type of system is commonly seen in every small and big tapri of the country, where the sole aim of the shopkeeper is to serve the customer the tea of his choice and not to check his social or caste background.
Pradeep Bhandari calls Rahul Gandhi ‘leader of propaganda’, advises not to divide the country
At the end of this Fact Check video, BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari rejected this statement of Rahul Gandhi as a strong political attack. He put a big question mark on Rahul Gandhi’s leadership by writing ‘LOP – Leader of Propaganda’ in English above the video. Bhandari said in strong words that those who have never drank tea standing at a roadside tea stall in their life are completely ignorant of the ground reality. Such leaders, without any solid basis, are only creating sensation and creating a false narrative in the society for political gains. Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, the BJP spokesperson gave a clear message that he should not only stop giving such misleading statements but should also desist from his politics of dividing the people of the country in the name of castes. This entire incident once again proves how ground realities are distorted for political gains, which is now being exposed by conscious citizens and the ground reality itself.