The Delhi Police has initiated an FIR following allegations that a video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s speech was tampered with to portray him as advocating for the abolition of reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The complaint was lodged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing a social media handle associated with the Congress of disseminating the altered video.
Delhi Police Ministry of Home Affairs had written in the complaint that it has been found that some doctored videos are being circulated by users of Facebook and Twitter. The video seems to be doctored, spreading misleading information to create disharmony among communities, which is likely to affect public tranquility and public order issues.
The BJP’s complaint, filed with the chief electoral officer of Andhra Pradesh, asserts that Shah’s original speech, delivered at an election rally in Telangana, was manipulated to create a false impression that he opposed reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs. The party contends that the tampering was orchestrated by Congress-affiliated social media activists to tarnish the BJP’s image and influence the upcoming elections in Andhra Pradesh and across India.
FIR registered against Twitter handles who edited Home Minister Amit Shah's statement and circulated it as a statement to end reservation.
Those running such Twitter handles across the country will be caught.
Arrests soon.
Details of those who circulated it and then deleted it… pic.twitter.com/XouFJLvmXE
— Aditya Kumar Trivedi (@adityasvlogs) April 28, 2024
According to the sources, a case has been registered under Sections 153, 153A, 465, 469, 171G of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 66C of the Information Technology (IT) Act and a probe has been initiated.
According to the complaint, Shah did not make any statements against reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs, and the distortion of his speech was a deliberate attempt to mislead the public. The BJP has also brought the matter to the attention of the cybercrime investigation department of the police, underscoring the seriousness of the issue.
The alleged tampering involves a video in which Shah is purportedly discussing the removal of what he deemed as “unconstitutional” reservation for Muslims in Telangana. The BJP contends that this footage was manipulated to falsely depict Shah advocating for the abolition of Muslim reservation during a Lok Sabha election rally.
The altered video was shared across various social media platforms, including official handles of Congress state units, sparking controversy and accusations against the BJP. Jharkhand Congress, in a tweet, referenced the purported remarks attributed to Shah, further fueling the debate on reservation policies.
In response, Amit Shah condemned the Congress for allegedly misleading the public on the issue of reservation. He accused the party of attempting to appease minorities by granting them reservation in certain states while depriving SCs, STs, and OBCs of their rightful representation in institutions such as Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University.
