New Delhi (Agency): Amit Malviya, head of BJP’s IT Cell, finds himself in the crosshairs of law enforcement after being accused of disseminating content designed to incite hostility and bias. A case has been registered against him following allegations that he posted a video online casting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a negative light. This comes after Ramesh Babu, a member of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, lodged an official complaint in relation to Malviya’s controversial tweet.
In his contentious tweet, Malviya featured an animated video purportedly depicting Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party unfavourably. Alongside the video, he included captions such as “Rahul Gandhi is dangerous and playing an insidious game” and “More dangerous are people who are pulling strings of #Raga like Sam P, staunchly anti-India, they leave no stone unturned to defame India overseas, just to embarrass Hon’ble PM @Narendramodi ji.”
The BJP leader now faces potential legal consequences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The charges include promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, and committing acts detrimental to the maintenance of harmony and conspiracy.
Upon learning about the FIR, Malviya unabashedly retweeted his original post, but with a Hindi caption that translates to “Rahul Gandhi a pawn of foreign forces”.
In a show of support for Malviya, BJP’s Bengaluru South Lok Sabha member Tejasvi Surya claimed the FIR against Malviya was simply political posturing, stating, “The FIR filed against Sri @amitmalviya is politically motivated. Plain and simple”.
He raised questions about the nature of the charges, querying whether Rahul Gandhi represented an individual, group, or class and vowed to contest the allegations in court, promising justice.
Meanwhile, Karnataka IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge, who accompanied Babu to file the complaint against Malviya, accused the BJP of consistently skirting the law and even taking issue with the Constitution. He further questioned the alleged malafide intent behind Malviya’s FIR, seeking clarity on the origin of the controversial video and those responsible for its distribution on social media platforms.
“I would like to ask the BJP, tell me which part of the FIR that has been lodged against Malviya with a malafide intention. Who is the creator of the video? Who is the one spreading the video? Who is getting the video to have enough traction on social media? Who is spreading these lies? I have promised the people of Karnataka that fake news will be reined in,” said Kharge, who is the son of Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge.
As the case against Malviya develops, it promises to intensify the political rivalry between the BJP and Congress while also spotlighting the role of social media in modern political discourse.
