All the available evidence suggests that PM Modi had launched Khelo India app on 27th morning almost hours before the official news of Indian pilot in Pakistan's custody broke out.
Several people on social media expressed their disapproval and dissatisfaction following the Khelo India app launch which Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a part of. This was because around the same time, the news of Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman taken under captivity by Pakistan started to circulate. People of the media felt and claimed that the app launch should have been postponed with the sensitivity that one of the IAF pilots are in custody.
One of the most virally acclaimed tweets was from Barkha Dutt, senior journalist, who tweeted out saying,
With respect, I do feel the launch of this Khel App could have been postponed given that one of our young pilots is in Pakistan custody. I know the forces have a free hand but more communication and sensitivity from GOI called for
Many agreed to her point and propagated the same under her tweet. Several other well-known people with good reach have also tweeted in the same context. However, the fact that PM Modi had prioritised the App launch event without sympathising with the fact that a pilot of our country is held captive is nothing but false news. This can be proven quite simply.
It is seen that the Youth Parliament Festival had commenced on 27th February at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi when the app launch took place. According to an India Today report, “ The Khelo India App is a first-of-its-kind sports application, developed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) that brings under one umbrella three significant features that together can help to create more awareness about sports and fitness among the masses in general and youngsters in particular”. A full report regarding the happenings of the event can be accessed here. On the Doordarshan YouTube channel, a full video of PM Modi’s arrival and his addressal of the gathering has been posted. It should also be noted that the event has been live-streamed and PM Modi’s arrival is at 10:04 AM.
The official Twitter handle of Doordarshan tweeted a small clip of PM Modi launching the app at 10:44 AM on 27th February.
Thus it is pretty obvious that the actual launch would have taken place prior to the post before 10:44 AM. Furthermore, it can be seen that Major General Asif Ghafoor, Chief spokesperson of Pakistan Armed Forces, tweeted out the information of the captivity officially at 11:49 AM somewhat an hour after the app launch.
According to reports from Economic Times and Mid-day, while PM Modi was in the middle of answering questions from youngsters at the Youth Festival, he was handed over a small piece of paper from an official of the Prime Minister Office. Following this, the PM immediately stopped and walked towards the panel where Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore was also present. He then apparently waved to the audience and immediately left to his office. However, these reports are not facilitated with sources and we couldn't verify the authenticity of this independently.
It can be concluded that the PM did not attend the launch knowing about the IAF pilot captivity. Thus the criticism against the PM which suggested that the event could have been postponed is misleading. It is also a shame that renowned journalists and other influential people tweeting information without cross-checking it with sources.
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Samyuktha Mirra
Contact: @@Samyuktha_Mirra
Bachelors of Journalism, psychology and English from Christ University
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