The Uttar Pradesh teacher, who was seen in the video asking her students to slap their Muslim classmate, has now claimed that the viral clip was distorted.While refusing that her action was communal in nature, the teacher, identified as Tripta Tyagi, has said that she asked some students to slap him because the 8-year-old had not been doing his homework.Speaking to the media today, she said, “There was pressure from the parents of the child to be strict with him. I am handicapped, so I made some students slap him up so that he would start doing his homework.”Video is edited: UP teacher claims Further, the teacher claimed that the video was edited to give the entire episode a communal angle. “The childs uncle was sitting in the class. The video was recorded by him which was later distorted,” Tyagi said, referring to communal words she was heard saying in the video.She also said that it was a small matter that had been exaggerated after the video went viral on the internet.“This wasnt my intention. They all are like my kids and I am accepting my mistake, but this was unnecessarily turned into a big issue,” Tripta Tyagi said.Tyagi wants to talk to leaders who misunderstood herShe also urged to talk to the opposition leaders who have raised their voice against this incident, saying “I want to tell politicians that this was a small matter. Leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have tweeted, but it was not such a big thing to tweet about. How will teachers teach if daily issues like these are made viral.”Meanwhile, a case has been lodged against the teacher, said Aravind Mallappa Bangari, District Magistrate of Muzaffarnagar.“The parents initially did not agree to give a complaint but this morning they gave a complaint to the local police station, and it has been registered. Legal action will be taken in the case,” the DM said.Opposition leaders condemn incident as hate crimeSince the video surfaced all over the internet, it triggered a massive row with the opposition leaders like Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, condemning it as a hate crime.Taking it to Twitter, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote in Hindi, “Where there is talk of technology to go to the moon or things that build a boundary wall of hatred. The choice is clear. Hate is the biggest enemy of progress.”हम अपनी आने वाली पीढ़ियों को कैसा क्लासरूम, कैसा समाज देना चाहते हैंजहां चांद पर जाने की तकनीक की बातें हो या नफरत की चहारदीवारी खड़ी करने वाली बातें।विकल्प एकदम स्पष्ट है। नफरत तरक्की की सबसे बड़ी दुश्मन है।हमें एकजुट होकर इस नफरत के खिलाफ बोलना होगा- अपने देश के लिए,…— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) August 25, 2023“Sowing the poison of discrimination in the minds of innocent children, turning a holy place like a school into a marketplace of hatred – there is nothing worse a teacher can do for the country,” Rahul Gandhi said in his tweet in Hindi.मासूम बच्चों के मन में भेदभाव का ज़हर घोलना, स्कूल जैसे पवित्र स्थान को नफ़रत का बाज़ार बनाना – एक शिक्षक देश के लिए इससे बुरा कुछ नहीं कर सकता।ये भाजपा का फैलाया वही केरोसिन है जिसने भारत के कोने-कोने में आग लगा रखी है।बच्चे भारत का भविष्य हैं – उनको नफ़रत नहीं, हम सबको मिल…— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 25, 2023
