Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 29: The Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who is also the state Congress president, and four others, all from Telangana, have been summoned by the Delhi police to appear on Wednesday in connection with an alleged doctored video showing the union home minister Amit Shah advocating for the abolition of reservations in all forms including that of the scheduled castes, tribes and the other backward classes.
The video was allegedly shared by the official X handle of Telangana Congress, after which many party leaders reposted the video, claiming it showed the BJP’s “agenda to abolish SC/ST reservation quotas.”
The Delhi Police registered a case on the edited video being widely circulating on social media platforms after complaints by the BJP and the Union Home Ministry. In the altered video, the Home Minister was seen advocating for the abolition of reservation quotas for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
After the complaints, the police filed a case 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 was initiated. The police also sent notices to the X and Facebook seeking information on the accounts that uploaded and shared the video. The BJP has claimed that the video was manipulated to distort Mr Shah’s original statements made during a political rally.
In the original video recorded during campaigning for the Assembly elections in the state in November last year, Shah, and several other BJP leaders, was heard saying the BJP would remove the four per cent reservation for Muslims that existed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Mr Shah and other BJP leaders had said Muslim reservation would be removed if the party was voted to power in the state. However, it was the Congress that won the election.
The video was allegedly morphed using deepfake technology to make it seem like Shah was saying all reservations, including of SCs and STs, would be scrapped. Officers from a special team constituted by the Delhi Police to look into the matter arrived at the Congress party office in Hyderabad on Monday and handed over the notice.
A senior Delhi Police officer said the notice was issued after the BJP filed a complaint with the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit. An FIR alleged that the video was uploaded in a bid to create disharmony among communities and adversely affect the law-and-order situation.
An official of the Telangana Chief Minister’s Office said Revanth Reddy was campaigning in Karnataka and would respond to the summons after returning to Hyderabad.
The controversy surrounding the video escalated as various social media handles, including official accounts affiliated with the Congress, shared the doctored footage, alleging that it revealed the BJP’s “agenda to abolish SC/ST reservation quotas”. These claims have drawn sharp criticism from BJP leaders, who accuse the Congress of disseminating false information with the potential to incite social discord.
The MHA has attached a comprehensive report to its complaint, identifying the links and handles responsible for sharing the doctored video of the Home Minister.
“The Congress is spreading an edited video which is completely fake and has the potential to cause large-scale violence. Home Minister Amit Shah spoke about removing the unconstitutional reservation given to Muslims, on the basis of religion, after reducing the share of SCs/STs and OBCs,” said BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya.
Mr Malviya claimed the “fake video” was posted by several Congress spokespersons. “They must be prepared for legal consequences,” he posted on X. Amid the raging controversy, Amit Shah on Sunday reaffirmed that as long as the BJP-led NDA was in power, there would be no rethink on reservations or quotas to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. He also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his charge that the BJP wants to take back reservations if elected for a third term.
“Rahul Gandhi is trying to mislead people by spreading canards against us. The BJP has been at the helm of this country for 10 years now and was elected with absolute majority twice. If we had, indeed, been working with the intention or motivation to put an end to reservations in the country, it would have happened by now. These are nothing but lies,” Mr Shah said.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier claimed that the BJP-ruled Centre wants to alter the country’s Constitution and take away the reservations and other rights of the backward communities and Dalits.
