The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat has ordered a probe into a viral video allegedly made with an intention to cause communal divide in the context of the Gujarat Assembly elections.
The cyber crime cell of Ahmedabad police will investigate the complaint of Govindbhai Parmar, a human rights activist and lawyer, who objected to the video saying it was made with the intention of spreading communal hatred between Muslims and Hindus and demanded that it be banned.
The clip begins with a young girl walking down a street while the Azaan plays in the background, hinting that she may be in a Muslim locality. The accompanying text reads: “This can happen in Gujarat after 7 in the evening”.
As the girl walks down the street, the video cuts to her parents, who can be seen pacing in their room as they restlessly wait for her to return.
An idol of Lord Krishna is visible in the background, indicating that this is a Hindu household. When the girl returns home, her mother faces the camera and says: “One minute, why are you surprised to see this is happening in Gujarat?”
Without naming or blaming the Muslim community, the father says: “22 years ago (when the Congress was last in power in Gujarat) this used to happen, and it could happen again if these guys come to power,” to which the girl says: “But don’t worry. Nobody will come. Because Modi is here.”
The clip ends with the message, “Our vote, our security.”
The Quint could not independently verify the clip.
In a bid to trace the origin of the instigating video, Govind Parmar wrote to the Election Commission and Gujarat Police on the matter. Parmar told The Indian Express:
It is clear that the intention of the video is to spread a feeling of fear of Muslims among the majority community members. It has been made to spread hatred towards Muslims, and for polarisation of votes which is an offence.
According to the report, the Congress IT cell has launched a social media campaign titled: “Gujarat ne daravsho nahi (Do not frighten Gujarat)”.
We are not naming any party for this (video clip), but I personally think that this could be a surrogate campaign of the BJP as the only party that can benefit from it is the BJP.Rohan Gupta, Gujarat Congress IT cell chief told The Indian Express
Pankaj Shukla, of the Gujarat BJP’s social media cell, told The Indian Express that the BJP did not have anything to do with the video. “Well wishers of the BJP” must have “turned their feelings into a video,” he told the daily.
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