Last week, a doctored image of cricketer turned politician Gautam Gambhir sporting orange turban and a scarf with lotus, BJP’s election symbol, printed on one side and ICC World Cup 2019 logo on the other side, went viral.
In the picture, BJP MP Gambhir was posing with Irfan Pathan and Jatin Sapru on what appeared to be a TV show on the ongoing Cricket World Cup.
After the image surfaced on the internet, several fans started slamming Gambhir for promoting the BJP during a cricket show.
“We respect you as a player, please don’t bring your politics into Cricket. This is not a right platform,” tweeted a user.
Dear @GautamGambhir
We respect you as a player, please don’t bring your politics into Cricket. This is not a right platform#INDvSL #CWC19 #Gambhir #Jadeja pic.twitter.com/bLIoTJWyGe
— PoliCric (@Baba_Despactio) July 6, 2019
A fan account of TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Twitter shared the picture stating, “Shame on you @GautamGambhir !!”
Shame on you @GautamGambhir !!
Why he is fit for the @BJP4India : open his mouth for nonsense back track on everything as he has no integrity .
Instead of boycotting match he is giving Gyan. Being paid crores to compromise with his nationalism. #MahuaMoitra pic.twitter.com/O0LvkMWXIg— mahua moitra (@mahuamoitramp) July 6, 2019
Origin Of The Image
The doctored image was created by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra. Kamra, himself, tweeted the picture from his official Twitter account. He also posted the picture from other social media platform (FB and Instagram) linked to his name.
Kamra on his Twitter account wrote, “BJP MP apni constituency main gambhirta se kaam karte hue (BJP MP working hard in his constituency).”
*BJP MP apni constituency main gambhirta se kaam karte hue* pic.twitter.com/0GcTe6q6lq
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) July 6, 2019
After Twitter users wrongly slammed Gambhir, Kamra told the Boomlive, “It was purely to get a laugh from my audience.”
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) July 7, 2019
“It was a joke I made on his double role as a cricket expert and newly elected MP. However I realised that not everyone gets jokes and think that this is how he dressed up actually (sic), hence I shared the DNA article on Twitter,” said Kamra.
The original image was first shared by Irfan Pathan on his Twitter account.
Teen tigada logo ka kaam bigada;) #work pic.twitter.com/2HjYei3WxH
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) June 25, 2019
Also Read: Gautam Gambhir To Fund Education Expenses Of Children Of Martyred Soldiers In Sukma Maoist Attack
