FIR filed against MP BJP leader over allegedly doctored video of pro-Pakistani
On Friday night, Chhattisgarh police filed an FIR against Madhya Pradesh BJP media cell chief Lokendra Parashar for allegedly posting on social media a ‘doctored’ video of a pro-Pakistan slogan being raised during Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra,’ which is passing through the state.
The MP BJP backed Parashar on Saturday, claiming that the video was first posted on the Congress Twitter handle by those in PCC chief Kamal Nath’s office.
According to the complaint filed by the party’s state spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi and state co-media in-charge Narendra Shivaji Patel to the Crime Branch, Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Kamal Nath, and the whole Congress party in the country under the cover of Bharat Jodo Yatra. The BJP leaders said that chants such as “Pakistan Zindabad” are being raised during the yatra in order to disrupt the country’s tranquilly.
After the scandal emerged on Friday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the video had been doctored and threatened the BJP with “urgent legal action.” Ankit Kumar Mishra, the complainant in Raipur, is a member of the Chhattisgarh Congress legal cell. On November 25, he claims, Parashar “deliberately shared the footage from his Twitter handle to antagonise the public.”
However, Congress Party leader Dhananjay Thakur alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party is disseminating fake news because the party is concerned about the public response to the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
“The Bharat Jodo Yatra had arrived in Madhya Pradesh, where the people have welcomed it.” Fearing this, the BJP, which has a tendency of creating sensationalism by fabricating false films and talking lies, distributed a falsified video, in response to which a FIR was made in Chhattisgarh,” Dhananjay Thakur said.
On November 23, the Bharat Jodo led by Rahul Gandhi entered Madhya Pradesh on the 77th day of its Padyatra. The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started on September 7 in Kanyakumari, will march 3,570 kilometres in total. It will be over in Kashmir next year. In a previous statement, the Congress claimed that it was the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in Indian history.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra is receiving support from a wide range of political parties and social groups around the country, and the response is growing by the day.
In his lawsuit, Mishra stated, “Parashar broadcast a bogus video meant to incite communal hatred.” Police have charged Parashar with violating IPC sections 504, 505, 120B, and 153. According to the BJP, the video was posted by the Congress owing to infighting inside the party. “”The FIR against Parashar is a futile attempt to hide MP Congress involvement,” claimed Pankaj Chaturvedi, state BJP spokesman.
Notably, all MPs, leaders, and staff of the party, as well as Rahul Gandhi, are housed in containers. Sleeping beds, bathrooms, and air conditioners are also available in some of the containers. The preparations were designed with the extreme heat and humidity of the move in mind. The Congress was humiliated in the assembly elections earlier this year, and the Yatra is considered as an attempt to unify the party’s rank and file for the impending political contests.