Satyam Surana, an Indian student, who came to the limelight when he picked up the tricolour from the road, defying the attack at the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom by extremist elements last year, is now alleging hate and smear campaigns against him during the student union elections at the London School of Economics this year.

Satyam has alleged that, just 12 hours before the voting, a very ‘well-planned’ campaign was launched against him, somehow linking him with the Bharatiya Janata Party and calling him a ‘fascist’ to boycott him and his campaign.

The Pune-born student has also practiced at the Bombay High Court for some months and is pursuing an LLM at the London School of Economics with his course ending later this year.

Elaborating on the whole set of incidents, he said that the LSE elections were declared in February and early March and he filed the nomination for the post of general secretary.

“From March 14-15, we noticed that my posters were being ripped off, torn. We complained to the authorities. After we replaced our posters, on March 16, we saw that some posters were defaced. There were crosses on my face, it was written ‘anyone but Satyam’. I was cancelled out,” Satyam told the news agency ANI.

“On March 17 afternoon, there were messages in all groups of LSE. Indian groups, law school groups. The messages claimed, ‘This Satyam Surana is a BJP supporter, he is a fascist person, an Islamophobe, transphobe’. The messages were so seditious and contentious of the Indian government and the current establishment,” he added.

Satyam alleged that the radical elements also screenshotted his posts on social media handle X, where he had merely praised the BJP government, but his posts were used with a malicious agenda to call him a “fascist.”

He also said that his manifesto had no political points, but merely contained the genuine issues on campus. Even though he initially got overwhelming support, this hate campaign derailed his chances.

“With my entire team, I went through the entire campus. We were reaching out across departments and explaining our policies. I had a very well-written and well-drafted manifesto, which was not at all political. It said how things need improvement at LSE, how there is a need for a grievance redressal portal, having subsidised food on campus. We were getting support and people were saying that they would vote for me,” Satyam said.

“But, out of the three people, it was only me who was targeted randomly. When these messages started coming, my entire team was shocked, we were in a dilemma, and the entire moral conscience of the team was shattered,” he added.

Recalling the episode from the Indian High Commission last year, Satyam said, “Somewhere around early October, I was in the news because I picked up the national flag outside the Indian High Commission among the Khalistani protestors. I was blessed to receive media coverage. I was interviewed by national media channels.”

He further said that he was targeted for calling Khalistanis as ‘terrorists’ in one of his posts.

“See, this is my country. I will always be an advocate for my country. How is Indian politics relevant to the student union elections in the UK? My views and endorsements of my government are entirely my opinion,” Satyam added.

People are now Anti-India because they are Anti-Modi‼️

They attempted to harass me. I was cancelled, I was slurred.

Why?
– Because I supported PM Modi.
– Because I supported BJP.
– Because I spoke up for the truth when the Ram Mandir was built.
– Because I supported the… pic.twitter.com/OArzoof3aN

— Satyam Surana (@SatyamSurana) March 25, 2024

The Indian student said that his photograph with Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis — which was clicked when he was invited by Mr Fadnavis during his India visit — was used by the extremist elements to claim that he is linked to the BJP.

He further pointed out that since the whole smear campaign against him was targeting the ‘right-wing’, Satyam believes that the campaign was planned by ‘left-wing’ groups.

“I was called a Neo-Nazi supporter, Right Wing, out of campus. See, when the message heading was circulated as the right wing out of campus, it is very clear that the campaign was dictated and planned by the left wing,” he said.

On being asked if the hate campaign against him was started by an Indian person or a foreigner, Satyam said that the first message he received was from an Indian and most of those involved in this campaign were Indians only.

He added that this was not a random or personal campaign, but a “well-planned hate and toolkit campaign” involving people who are politically motivated against the incumbent BJP government in India.

Satyam even claims that those who targeted him are part of that group that can’t digest the success of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and hence spread such false and malicious propaganda.

“The people of the international community are not aware of what is going on in India. Every international person is looking up to India and looking up to the current Prime Minister as a stalwart legendary politician. Our Prime Minister has the highest approval rating in the entire world, we have shown what we can do during COVID-19, and we are emerging as the third-largest economy. But, sadly these groups who can’t digest this fact are spreading not misinformation, but disinformation,” Satyam said.

However, Satyam was not able to go past the finish line despite gathering support in the initial phase of the campaign. He believes that the way his campaign was targeted and hampered it hurt his goodwill.

He further said that this campaign did have a huge impact on him and his life at the campus, even after the elections were over. But, he also acknowledged that he did get support from many people who stood by him in this hour.

Satyam stated that the point in the episode that hurts him the most is the fact that the majority of people who carried out the hate campaign against him were actually Indians only.

“The only thing that hurts is that these were our fellow Indian students who circulated these messages and questioned the sovereignty of India…how shameless can people be to forward these messages? I can’t believe Indian students forwarding the messages and hampering the sovereignty and integrity of our country,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Indian student Satyam Surana alleges hate campaign during London School of Economics elections, citing smear tactics linking him to BJP

Six people are feared dead after a ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in US’ Baltimore on Tuesday causing it to collapse and plunge into water. Authorities have called off rescue operations, presuming that those missing have died in the collision.

The container ship Dali, manned entirely by an Indian crew, momentarily lost power and rammed into the bridge. While all 22 crew were unharmed and accounted for, six repairmen on the bridge have been missing. They were part of a construction crew working on repairing potholes on the bridge when it collapsed around midnight.

“Based on the length of time that we’ve gone in this search, the extensive search efforts that we put into it, the water temperature… at this point we do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,” US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said, as quoted by news agency AFP.

Watch: US Bridge Collapses After Ship Collision

🔗 https://t.co/uNFkLl7n6X pic.twitter.com/WTG3v7T6Ga

— NDTV (@ndtv) March 26, 2024

The police said they are now stepping away from search operations and moving on to recovery as the temperatures and currents in the water make it difficult for divers to stay underwater for long.

The Indian Embassy in US condoled the horrific crash and issued a helpline for any Indian citizens affected by the collision. “Our heartfelt condolences to all affected by the unfortunate accident at the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. For any Indian citizens that may be affected/ require assistance, the Embassy of India has created a dedicated hotline: please reach out to us on +1-202-717-1996,” it wrote on X.

Crew tried to avert crisis

Around midnight on Tuesday, the ship experienced a momentary loss of propulsion due to which it was unable to control its direction. Expecting a collision with the 1977 bridge, the ship sent out an Mayday signal (distress call) to warn of the imminent crash. Anchors were dropped as a last ditch effort to stop the ship from moving forward.

The Maryland Governor Wes Moore said the distress call was crucial as it helped bridge officials to stop vehicles from going on it. When the ship hit the bridge, multiple vehicles and 20 people fell into the Patapsco River. Video footage showed the high-speed 300-metre container ship slamming into one of the bridge’s legs.

“We’re thankful that between the Mayday and the collapse that we had officials who were able to begin to stop the flow of traffic. These people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” Mr Moore said, according to AFP.

Some social media theories claimed the crash was a cyber attack on US and marked the “beginning of WW3”. However, the FBI and other US agencies said no they found connection that pointed to a terror plot behind the crash.

What happens next?

Search operation have been called off but overnight patrolling by boats will continue.

While the port has been closed “until further notice”, traffic is being diverted away from the bridge. Vehicular movement will be affected by the collapse as it was a vital connecting bridge in the area. Shipping may also be hit due to debris in the water.

The Maryland Governor declared a state of emergency and the authorities are monitoring for any fuel spill from the ship.