Home News National Story Planter Jairam Ramesh’s History Of Peddling Misinformation

Story Planter Jairam Ramesh’s History Of Peddling Misinformation

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The Commune
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Congress MP and the Congress party’s media in-charge Jairam Ramesh is back in the news for amplifying fake news once again. Jairam Ramesh recently shared a misleading claim on social media platform X, alleging that Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir was invited to the U.S. Army Day parade in Washington, D.C.

Image Source: OpIndia

Ramesh suggested this was a diplomatic failure for India and a blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the narrative quickly unraveled when the White House clarified that no such invitation had been extended, exposing the claim as false.

This is not the first time that Ramesh has peddled fake news. Let us take a look at some instances from the past where he has amplified propaganda.

#Fake News 1: GST being imposed on TN Temples

One of the notable instances where Congress MP Jairam Ramesh spread a misleading narrative occurred on 9 March 2025, when he alleged that temples in Tamil Nadu under the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department were being subjected to Goods and Services Tax (GST). Citing a report from Dinamalar, Ramesh tweeted that this was an “extraordinary” development, suggesting it was a cause for concern.

However, this claim was debunked upon review of official government policy and parliamentary records. As per a written reply in Parliament on February 3, 2025, temples and religious bodies are not required to pay GST for their core religious functions. The exemptions include:

  • Prasadam Distribution: Free or paid prasadam offerings are not subject to GST.
  • Religious Rituals: Services related to poojas and spiritual ceremonies are fully exempt.
  • Rental Income Below Thresholds: Rental of halls, shops, or spaces is not taxed if income remains below prescribed limits.

Moreover, under provisions of the Income Tax Act, services offered by temples for religious or spiritual purposes continue to remain GST-exempt. Sadly, Ramesh’s claim that temples are being forced to pay “crores” in GST misrepresents the facts. GST is levied only on commercial activities undertaken by temples—such as leasing out large spaces, shops, or guest houses on a commercial basis. This is a uniform tax rule applicable to all organizations, including private entities, trusts, and religious institutions—not something uniquely targeting temples. The 18% GST on commercial property rental is part of general taxation policy and not a targeted measure against Hindu temples or religious practices.

#Fake News 2: Amit Shah contacted DMs To Influence counting in Lok Sabha

In yet another instance of spreading unverified allegations, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stirred controversy by accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah of attempting to influence the outcome of the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

Ramesh alleged that Shah had contacted 150 District Magistrates (DMs) across an equal number of parliamentary constituencies to sway the counting process. This serious accusation was made publicly via Ramesh’s official handle on social media platform X.  He claimed, “The outgoing Home Minister has been calling up DMs/Collectors. So far he has spoken to 150 of them. This is blatant and brazen intimidation, showing how desperate the BJP is. Let it be very clear: the will of the people shall prevail, and on June 4th, Mr. Modi, Mr. Shah, and the BJP will exit, and the INDIA Janbandhan will be victorious. Officers should not get under any pressure and must uphold the Constitution. They are under watch.”

The Election Commission of India (ECI) responded swiftly, taking serious note of the allegation. It issued a formal notice to Ramesh, requesting him to provide specific details, including the names of the DMs who were allegedly contacted. Caught off guard by the ECI’s demand for evidence, Jairam Ramesh asked for a one-week extension to gather the details—a delay that raised further questions about the authenticity of his claims.

#Fake News 3: NSA Ajit Doval’s Son Operated A Hedge Fund, Apologised Later

In another instance in 2020, Jairam Ramesh, issued a formal apology to Vivek Doval, son of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, for making defamatory remarks based on an article published in The Caravan magazine. The apology led the Delhi court on 19 December to close the criminal defamation case filed against him.

The controversy began following the publication of an article titled “The D Companies” by The Caravan, which accused Vivek Doval of operating a hedge fund allegedly backed by promoters with questionable backgrounds. The piece led Ramesh to hold a press conference on  January 2019, where he made allegations against Vivek Doval, his family, and his business activities—claims later revealed to be unverified.

In response, Vivek Doval filed a defamation case against Jairam Ramesh, as well as The Caravan’s Editor-in-Chief Paresh Nath and journalist Kaushal Shroff.

In his written apology, Ramesh admitted the accusations were baseless and acknowledged that he should have independently verified the claims made in the article before taking them public. The apology was formally accepted by Vivek Doval. Ramesh stated, “I had conducted a press conference on 17 January 2019 making certain statements about you, your family and your business venture GNY Asia Fund. I understand these statements have hurt you deeply.” He added, “I want to clarify that these statements or accusations, were made drawing conclusions from an article that was published the previous day in the Caravan magazine. As the case progressed, I realized that perhaps some independent verification may have been in order.”

Ramesh felt it was appropriate to highlight the questions raised in the article as the general elections were about to take place. However, he added, “In retrospect, I may have gone overboard in making certain insinuations against you and your family. Thus, I would like to offer my apologies to you and your family for any hurt the statements have caused. I would also urge the INC to remove the press conference from the press releases available on their website,” he added.

#Fake News 4: Deflects DMK Failures, Shifts Blame to Centre Amidst PM Over Southern Outreach

In 2024, Jairam Ramesh raised several questions regarding Prime Minister Modi’s visits to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. He highlighted concerns about the Prime Minister’s attention to Tamil Nadu during crises with a tone buttressing its ally DMK, the impact of policies on textile factories, development remarks about Kerala, and environmental conservation efforts. In response, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai refuted these claims, emphasizing discrepancies in flood relief figures, attributing struggles in the power loom industry to the DMK government, and accusing the Congress of lacking understanding of ground realities. Annamalai urged Ramesh to direct his questions towards the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu and emphasized the BJP’s efforts in aiding MSMEs in Tamil Nadu.

On 19 March 2024, Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh released a statement through his official X account, stating that, “The Prime Minister is visiting Salem, Tamil Nadu and Palakkad, Kerala today. Some important questions that he must address:

1. While the Prime Minister has been visiting Tamil Nadu frequently in the last few weeks, he has historically paid little attention to the state. For instance, he did not set foot here during the Cyclone Michaung crisis in December 2023. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has repeatedly urged for the release of Rs. 37,907 crores from the Modi Sarkar for rehabilitation and reconstruction after the cyclone. Does the Prime Minister plan to fulfill this critical need of the people of Tamil Nadu?

2. During Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Salem, he will hopefully notice the numerous textile factories that have either shut down and disposed of machinery or reduced working hours for laborers. After having single-handedly destroyed India’s MSME manufacturing capacities with demonetization, GST, and the unplanned COVID-19 lock-down, what is the Prime Minister’s vision to rescue these textile factories?

3. ⁠ Kerala is the state that the Prime Minister had infamously compared to Somalia. Kerala’s performance on development indicators has been consistently better than *all* Indian states. Will the Prime Minister finally apologize to the people of Kerala for his misleading commentary on the state?

4. Kerala is home to the Western Ghats, an extremely fragile but important ecosystem. In the last 10 years, under Modi’s tutelage, there have been continuous assaults on its ecosystem. The Modi Government has diluted all environment and forest laws to help a few favored corporates, and perhaps to repay the debts incurred for their purchase of the BJP’s electoral bonds. Will the Prime Minister come clean on what his motivations were when he was diluting our environmental protection regime to favor his corporate friends?”

The Tamil Nadu BJP president, K Annamalai, promptly busted the allegations and released a statement via his official handle on social media platform X that, “Thiru @Jairam_Ramesh, known for banning the pride of TN, the Jallikattu, has a newfound affection for Tamil Nadu (Understandable as elections are around the corner). Sitting in an ivory tower, Congress leaders do not see the ground reality. Neither have they changed nor their poll promise of “Roti, Kapada, Makkan” since the 1980s.

1. The flood relief sought by TN is not ₹37,907 Crore but ₹15,645 Crore (Confirmed by the Ministry of Finance in the Lok Sabha). The total SDRF fund available with the TN Govt was ₹2013 Crore & ₹3406 Crore was the total flood relief work carried out by the DMK Govt. We asked the DMK Govt to furnish the breakup of the ₹37,907 Crore inflated flood relief they sought but are faced with defeating silence.

We request Thiru @Jairam_Ramesh to ask his alliance partner to furnish the necessary details before politicising this matter. Does Thiru @Jairam_Ramesh know that the DMK Govt claimed completion of 99% of stormwater drain works in Chennai before the floods and flipped to 42% after the floods? Is scamming people the single-point agenda of the I.N.D.I. Alliance?

2. The Powerloom industry in Tamil Nadu is struggling due to the gross inefficiency of the DMK Government. Electricity tariff increased between 15 to 50%, Peak hour charges were increased from 35/KW to 150/KW, and there was a phenomenal increase in fixed charges.

Recently, @BJP4TamilNadu exposed the monumental corruption of the DMK Government in the Free Dhoti scheme & regardless of it, the Handloom & Textile Minister of Tamil Nadu continues to exploit the handloom & powerloom weavers of Tamil Nadu by taking a fixed fee as commission for orders placed to them.

When the Ambattur industrial estate was flooded due to the incapability of the DMK Govt, our Hon FM Smt @nsitharaman avl swiftly arranged the necessary assistance from the insurance companies to help them restart their business activity.

This is one of the many instances that we could quote! Thiru @Jairam_Ramesh , please do your homework right & your questions should be posted to DMK & not our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi avl. And please look into the quantum of assistance/loans issued to MSMEs in TN through PM Mudra, PMEGP & MSME Credit Guarantee programmes before pointing fingers the next time.”

Ghulam Nabi Azad Accuses Jairam Ramesh Of “Planting Stories”

A 2023 interview of Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad went viral recently where he accused Ramesh of ‘planting stories’ irrespective of the government in power. Azad said, “I don’t know the person, he is a person whose biodata in Congress party nobody knows. Nobody knows where, which state does he belong? which district he belong? which party he belonged to? He was never in Youth Congress, NSUI, he was never in Congress, he was not in block committee, district committee, state committee, PCC. All of a sudden by doing these tweets we saw him becoming MP. We saw him becoming cabinet minister. And he is the one in cabinet minister who would put his telephone on, so that the media people will listen. That is the type of person. He is the person in a house sleeps with the laptop and gives messages. Earlier, he used to plant messages and plant stories against the government, against the opposition leaders. Now he’s planting stories against me. So many dirty stories.”

He further added, “He is 24/7 doing all these planting of stories. He is a great story planter, you know, very famous for planting stories then and now. So, his job is this that’s why he was made the media head.”

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