New Delhi: Editor-in-Chief of Zee News Sudhir Chaudhary on Wednesday issued a statement after his recent visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he was invited to an event as a speaker. However, the organisers had come under strong criticism for inviting the controversial news anchor to the annual international seminar in Abu Dhabi.
Many, including the UAE Princess Hend bint Faisal Al Qasim, called him an ‘Islamophobe’ and asked the organisers to cancel him from the event, but the UAE authorities didn’t shun Chaudhary from taking part in the event, which took place on November 25 and 26, 2021.
Statement issued by Sudhir Chaudhary
After attending the event and returning to India, Chaudhary took to Twitter and issued a detailed statement stating, “My name is Sudhir Chaudhary and I’m not an Islamophobe.”
In his statement, he wrote, “Just days before the event, some blue-ticked handles led by a “princess” & wannabe blogger started browbeating and threatening the organisers. They called me an Islamophobe and a terrorist “.
Targeting a few media houses, he wrote, “Some media outfits in India amplified their propaganda and lies without any fact-checking. They declared that I’d been barred from speaking at the event”.
Dismissing all rumours that were prevailing on social media, he wrote that despite pressure, intimidation tactics, etc, he had visited Abu Dhabi and attended the event.
Referring to those who wrote against him on social media, Sudhir Chaudhary wrote, “unfortunately for the trolls, the response I got from the people of Abu Dhabi was overwhelming and truly touching”.
He further thanked the government of the UAE and local authorities for making the visit “a truly memorable one.”
He concluded his statement with American writer Mark Twain’s quote, “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes”.
Reacting to his claim, Twitterati started sharing his old videos where he was seen targetting a particular section of society.
Twitterati share old videos
Reacting to Chaudhary’s statement, Twitterati and fact-checkers started sharing his old videos, where he can be seen targetting Muslims. In one of the shows, he raised the so-called ‘Zameen Jihad’.
Some of the Twitterati’s reactions are as follows: