The 11-year-old activist called out to the politician and tweeted, “Hi sir, I’m a proud Indian.”
New Delhi:
Licypriya Kangujam, an 11-year-old environmental activist from Manipur, has recalled a tweet by a Samajwadi party leader who identified her as a “foreign tourist”.
The children’s activist had recently shared a photo from near the Taj Mahal to spread awareness about plastic pollution behind the iconic monument. In the photo, she was holding a sign that read, “Behind the beauty of the Taj Mahal is plastic pollution.”
Behind the beauty of Taj Mahal! Thanks people. †
You may witness this scene when you visit the Taj Mahal. You could say it is very polluted but your 1 piece plastic bag, simple plastic water bottle led this situation when millions of people visit every year. pic.twitter.com/KriVT1ewvk
— Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) June 21, 2022
The post sparked criticism from authorities, with many targeting the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh.
पर्यटक भी भाजपा शासित योगी सरकार को आईना दिखाने को मजबूर हैं ,
की सरकार में यमुना जी गंदगी से भरी पड़ी हैं ,ताजमहल को खूबसूरती पर ये गंदगी एक बदनुमा दाग है ,
द्वारा सरकार को आईना दिखाना बेहद शर्मनाक है , यूपी की ये छवि भाजपा सरकार ने बनाई है???? pic.twitter.com/vEjoJNuSZn
— Manish Jagan Agrawal (मनीष जगन अग्रवाल) (@manishjagan) June 22, 2022
Samajwadi party leader Manish Jagan Agrawal tweeted in Hindi: “Foreign tourists are also forced to show a mirror to the BJP-ruled Yogi government. Yamuna ji is full of dirt under the BJP government. This dirt “It is a bad stain on the beauty of the Taj Mahal. It is very embarrassing for foreign tourists to show the government a mirror. This image of India and UP has been created by the BJP government.”
The 11-year-old activist called out the error, tweeting, “Hi sir, I’m a proud Indian. I’m not a foreigner.”
Hello sir,
I am a proud Indian. I am not a foreigner. † https://t.co/KBshDFJzQM— Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) June 22, 2022
Mr Agrawal also commented on Ms Kangujam’s post, citing media coverage of the story. He wrote, “Please read the news” and added several headlines.
@LicypriyaK
Please read the news pic.twitter.com/Isxkf7cRog— Manish Jagan Agrawal (मनीष जगन अग्रवाल) (@manishjagan) June 23, 2022
Later, Mr Agrawal corrected his mistake via a tweet. Again, he shared the photo of Ms. Kangujam at the Taj Mahal, writing: “This photo was shown yesterday by a news channel, in which this daughter of India was described as a foreigner, because of wrong news from the channel, there was an error in understanding .”
He praised the efforts of the children’s activist, saying: “This daughter of India’s campaign to save the environment is appreciated and we are all with this daughter of India.” He added: “The confusion that was there was because of the news channel.”
तस्वीर को कल एक न्यूज चैनल ने दिखाया ,जिसमें भारत की इस बेटी को विदेशी बताया गया , की गलत खबर की वजह से समझने में भूल हुई ,
की इस बेटी के पर्यावरण बचाओ अभियान की सराहना है और हम सब भारत की इस बेटी @LicypriyaK ,
भ्रम हुआ वो न्यूज चैनल की वजह से हुआ! pic.twitter.com/vxizlFyTVT
— Manish Jagan Agrawal (मनीष जगन अग्रवाल) (@manishjagan) June 23, 2022
However, Mr Agrawal’s mistake drew flak on social media with many users pointing out that he should have checked the facts before tweeting.
She is from Manipur.
— Ranadeb Bhattacharya (@RanadebBhattac2) June 23, 2022
They’re in such a rush to tweet that they don’t actually try to see who the handler is
— Inudin Sayyed (@inudinIM) June 22, 2022
If the media misprints your name as Anish Lagan, does that mean it will be your name? Doesn’t an influential person like you, whose voice reaches multiple people on the internet, check their facts before posting and social media?
— Himanshu Dutta (@Himansh82279267) June 23, 2022
In response to Ms. Kangujam’s post, some Twitter users reached out to help solve the problem of plastic pollution around the Taj Mahal.
One user wrote: “Dear daughter, please call me if you plan to pick up the nest you showed in the photo. I will be there to help you and together we will clean India.”
Dear Daughter @LicypriyaK, please call me if you plan to pick up the litter you showed in the picture. I will be there to help you and together we will make India clean
— ???? (@jharkhandiKisan) June 23, 2022
Licypriya Kangujam’s later posted that her tweet led to a cleanup of the site.
Glad to see my only tweet yesterday was forced by authorities to clean up trash around the Taj Mahal. But I want a permanent solution. Completely ban single-use plastic in and around all heritage sites of India under a law.
Either way, change is coming whether you like it or not. † pic.twitter.com/jMM7v8WVas
— Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) June 23, 2022
She also said that the Agra Municipal Corporation had imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the authority responsible for clearing the area around the Taj Mahal.
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