Fact Check: “Cong wants GST levied on worship articles” claims doctored video of Supriya Shrinate’s
Mangaluru: A WhatsApp forwarded chat attached with a trimmed video from a press conference conducted by National Spokesperson of the Congress party, Supriya Shrinate on October 17 is going viral across the messaging platform. The viral Whatsapp message originally written in Kannada claims that the ‘Congress wants tax to be levied on Hindu worship items (i.e. Pooja samagri)....In reality the Congress is plotting to oppress the Hindu faith..”
The text attached along the clipping further claimed that the Congress is more cruel than the British and Mughal empire. Electing Congress to power is like laying the foundation for creating another Pakistan. “A true self-respecting Hindu will not vote for Congress. People are not understanding this reality in the rush of fortunes. By the time we understand, we won't be there.! Get rid of Congress first. Save the country and religion. Share this to all. Jai Hind,” the message further read.
Meanwhile, upon running a scan on the internet, we found that the claims made in the viral WhatsApp message were deceptive, purported to seem like the Congress demanding a tax on the Hindu worship articles. The video of Supriya’s press conference was originally posted on October 17 and was about the Congress party slamming the union government for imposing a 18% GST (Goods Service tax) on the Worship article, ‘Gangaajal.’
During the press conference, Supriya alleged that the BJP Government had imposed an 18% tax on ‘Gangaajal’, but reversed its decisions after facing strong backlash from the Congress.
While, in the viral trimmed video attached with the message, Supriya was seen displaying the worship articles and saying that “There is no tax levied on worship articles including, Rudraksh Mala, Yagnopavit, Honey with no branding, Raksha sutra or Kalava, Vibhuti, wick used in diyas, wooden khadau and Charanamrit. Everything else is marked with GST.”In reality, Supriya shows a purported letter of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs which did not include ‘Gangaajal’ as an item which is exempt from GST but listed 10 all such items including rudraksha mala, yagnopavit, vibhuti, roli, chandan tika and wooden khadau on which there was no tax. The part where Supriya shows the letter and questions the government has been trimmed and was cut short to allegedly show that the Congress was demanding an tax on Worship articles.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
