‘Where were you?’: Dainik Bhaskar chides Pragya Thakur for abandoning Bhopal during pandemic

On May 12, Dainik Bhaskar welcomed back Bhopal’s “missing” MP Pragya Singh Thakur. She was spotted in Bairagarh, a suburb of the Madhya Pradesh capital, distributing sanitisers and vaporiser machines.

“Where were you all this time?” the Hindi daily asked the BJP leader. “When Bhopal was sick and desperate for help, you were nowhere to be seen. When the city needed oxygen and Remdesivir, you were still not here. On Tuesday, you were suddenly seen near Bairagarh, giving out vaporiser machines and sanitisers. We thank you, and we hope that we continue to see you like this.”

It continued, “We saw our MP after 70 days. We thank you for remembering Bhopal.”

“Bhopal gave you a win by 3.64 lakh votes. Today, in the same Bhopal, over one lakh people are battling corona. Medicines and oxygen are insufficient, and 817 people have lost the fight. Wouldn’t your voters be among them?”

“We are going through difficult times and you are not with us. Honor the respect that the people of Bhopal have given you.”

On May 4, Prateek Goyal reported in Newslaundry that people in Bhopal were furious with Thakur for not turning up to help them during the pandemic, and had even resorted to circulating missing person posters offering “rewards” for anyone who would be able to find their MP. The posters stated that whoever found her would receive beds, oxygen and medicine. Read Prateek’s report.