‘News’ about two-wheelers having to pay toll is not true; TV9 Bharatvarsh, India Today, others misreport

On June 26, several news outlets reported that under new rules by the Indian government, two-wheelers will be required to pay a tax at toll plazas from July 15, 2025.

Media outlets TV9 Bharatvarsh, TV9 Hindi and TV9 Assam in their video reports and stories on June 26  said that July 15 onwards, two-wheelers using the national highway will have to pay toll to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Although TV9 Bharatvarsh has now removed this video, it was shared on YouTube by Opposition party, Congress. The party’s national spokesperson, Ritu Chaudhary, and party member, Priyamvada, also shared  TV9 Bharatvarsh’s video on X to claim that the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party was making life harder for middle-class Indians by imposing toll tax on two-wheelers, which is often dubbed a lifeline for many who cannot afford cars.

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Besides TV9, many other media organisations such Zee News Telugu, ETV Bharat, Punjab Kesari, IBC24, Lalluram.com, IRIA Gujarat, BBN 24 and DB Live published similar reports that two-wheelers will have to pay toll tax from July 15. India Today also published a report, which was subsequently taken down from its website. However, social media users shared screenshots of the story. Panchajanya, a Hindi language weekly magazine published by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), also posted the update on X but deleted it later.

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The Karnataka Congress also shared a similar report on its official X handle, calling it another blow to the common man. Other social media users on X also posted about the government levying a toll tax, based on media reports.

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Fact Check

Considering some news outlets deleted their reports, we began checking whether the information was true.

While investigating, we came across an X post by Nitin Gadkari, the minister of road transport and highways, shipping and water resources. His post said that media outlets were spreading misleading news that the government was levying toll on two-wheelers. Condemning those for spreading misinformation without verifying, he clarified that no such decision was made and two-wheelers remain exempt from toll tax. He even tagged TV9Bharatvarsh in his post.

The X handle of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) also said that reports by media outlets on toll being levied on bikes and scooters was baseless and that no such proposal was being considered.

The fact-checking unit of the government’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) also debunked the claims that two-wheelers would soon have to pay toll. However, it is worth noting that PIB did not call out any news outlet’s reports in its post, even though the misinformation was amplified because of misreporting by news outlets.

Even during the recent India-Pakistan conflict, PIB’s fact-check unit debunked many false claims spread on social media, but did not name or call out any media houses that blatantly spread misinformation.

Read: PIB ignores false claims by Indian media about Operation Sindoor & The fictional strikes on the Karachi port and what it says about Indian media

On June 26, TV9 Bharatvarsh issued a clarification: “TV9 Bharatvarsh had run the news some time ago that now two-wheelers will have to pay toll tax on NHAI, refuting this news, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has tweeted and informed that this news is false.”

To sum up, many Indian news outlets misreported that two-wheelers would soon have to pay toll tax, resulting in many amplifying it. The NHAI and Union minister Gadkari clarified that no such proposal was on the cards.

The post ‘News’ about two-wheelers having to pay toll is not true; TV9 Bharatvarsh, India Today, others misreport appeared first on Alt News.

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