Ruchi Pathak, a member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha during an event claimed that India has not attained freedom yet. She said that the independence of India is on lease for 99 years.
According to Pathak, India did not get full independence from the British in 1947 adding that our freedom is a 99-year lease deal from Britishers. She claimed that Jawaharlal Nehru brought India her independence by striking a deal with the British Crown.
"Till now India is not fully independent,” she said. She believes that during the freedom struggle, the British were not willing to give up India and that is when Nehru took oath for the British Crown and the Indian Consitution. None of her claims have been verified. She went on to blame the Indian National Congress for the leased independence of India.
As per reports, the Yuva Morcha members hails from the Jhansi district in Uttar Pradesh. After her factually debatable remarks at the event, other panellists called it out and said that it is a popular conspiracy spread on social media platforms. The legal document India Independence Act of 1947 also does not make any mention of a “lease” or of tenure of “99” years.
The said comments by the BJP speaker have sparked a fresh memefest on social media platforms. Many people were seen tweeting with 99 years lease hashtag thus making it trend on the microblogging site. One user wrote, "Hahahaha! BJP leader says India got independence on lease for 99 years, India is not completely independent."
Another user wrote, "People making fun of the #99YearsLease girl should realise, you'll remain where you are. She'll become a minister some day."
Many users mocked her by calling her a student of 'WhatApp University' a term given to the misinformed circulated messages on the messaging application.
Here are some more reactions to Ruchi Pathak's remark:
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