New Delhi: Displaying new-found aggression, the Congress on Monday said the party has registered complaints and one FIR against some BJP leaders in six states for allegedly circulating fake news related to Rahul Gandhi.“We have registered complaints in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. An FIR has been registered at Bilaspur,” Congress media chairman Pawan Khera said.
The complaints and FIR have been registered against BJP leaders like former union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Subrat Pathak, Kamlesh Saini and Bhola Singh for distributing a fake video linking Rahul’s recent remarks in Kerala to a terror incident in Udaipur, Rajasthan, said Khera.
The action followed two days after Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh had asked the BJP president JP Nadda to apologise over party leaders spreading the doctored video on social media. On July 2, an FIR was registered against a news channel, which had aired the doctored video but later apologized, in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
“We waited till midnight yesterday but there was no apology so we have filed the complaints,” said Khera. The Congress media chairman said, “the PM and Home Minister Amit Shah are the directors and producers of the said video but the BJP leaders are the distributors.” Shortly before announcing that the party had lodged the complaints, Khera warned those allegedly behind such fake news. “Every single day, and every word you say, every game you play, we will be watching you,” he tweeted.
Also read:Congress goes on the offensive, seeks BJP's apology over fake Rahul video
Party’s social media in-charge Supriya Shrinate said it was unfortunate that an FIR against former Information and Broadcasting minister Rathore had to be registered over fake news for allegedly fanning social disharmony. “The news channels and social media handles put out such fake news and then withdraw it and apologise but by that time the damage has already been done. The message keeps circulating on WhatsApp. We have to make social media safe and use it for constructive politics but not for fake news. This is like a conspiracy when it is used to defame an opposition leader and promote social disharmony,” she said.
“We are asking the PM why have you turned your leaders into trolls who get paid Rs 2 per tweet. Yes, the former minister deleted his tweets and Twitter also flagged it as harmful media but it is circulating on WhatsApp. If you are happy being a troll, then proper legal action befitting trolls will be taken against you,” she said.
Targeting Rahul Gandhi will not be tolerated anymore, said Shrinate. “If you misuse social media, it will not be tolerated. How can you tweet fake videos about Rahul Gandhi linking with terrorists and fan communal passions? It is not easy to be Rahul Gandhi. As a child, he saw his grandmother become a victim of terrorism and as a grown-up, he saw his father become a victim of terrorism,” she said.
Khera targeted the BJP saying a terrorist Talib Hussain Shah arrested in Jammu on Sunday was their local IT cell in charge and was seen along with senior party leaders.
