Controversial YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra invited for promotion of Vande Bharat, seen travelling along with BJP leaders in Kerala
Soon after the itinerary of Ms. Malhotra on the invitation of Kerala Tourism came out, it spiralled into a political controversy with BJP leaders seeking the resignation of Kerala's Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas.
BJP charge
Seeking the ouster of Mr. Riyas and an investigation into the incident, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Jai Hind posted on X on Monday that 'RTI reveals Pakistani spy Jyoti Malhotra visited Kerala on Left government invite and was State guest in a sense courtesy Tourism Department. So Bharat Mata is blocked and Pak spies are given red carpet by Left? Tourism Minister Mohammad Riyas is son-in-law of (CM Pinarayi) Vijayan. He should be sacked and investigated,' the post said.
In Kerala, Mr. Surendran said Ms. Malhotra's Kannur trip was sponsored by Kerala Tourism, run by son-in-law of Mr. Vijayan. He also wondered why Kerala was rolling out the red carpet for a Pakistan-linked spy.
Minister's stand
However, soon after the video of Ms. Malhotra's trip with the BJP leaders came out, the office of Mr. Riyas maintained that she was not charged with any cases during the time of her Vande Bharat trip in Kerala in 2024, but the outcry created by the BJP leaders revealed their double standards on the issue.
In the video shared by Ms. Malhotra on her social media platform, she is seen interacting with the former Union Minister during the trip, although the face of Mr. Surendran was only partially visible in the video.
28,000 likes
The video eulogising the Vande Bharat was liked by a whopping 28,000 viewers. Railway sources in Kerala maintained that she was part of the national media delegation invited by the Railway Board and she began her journey from Kasaragod.
She was invited considering the reach of her videos and there was no case against her when she was invited. Ms. Malhotra also toured around for six days in January on an invitation extended by Kerala Tourism as part of promoting Kerala Tourism.
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