Will EC Take Down Karnataka BJP’s Video Post Mocking Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and Muslims?

The Election Commission (EC) is reportedly considering requesting X (formerly Twitter) to remove an animated video shared by the BJP’s Karnataka unit on May 4. The video aims to emphasize the party’s accusation of Muslim appeasement by the Congress, as per a report by a renowned publication. The Congress had lodged a complaint with the state’s chief electoral officer regarding this matter.

Meanwhile, it’s been learned that the Congress has provided its response to the EC’s notice sent to party leader Mallikarjun Kharge on April 25. This notice pertained to alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by star campaigner Rahul Gandhi. Similarly, a notice was issued to BJP chief J P Nadda for MCC violations related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements. The BJP has reportedly requested a second extension for the deadline to respond.

Departing from its usual procedure of directly issuing notices to the concerned leaders, the EC had directed the party chiefs to respond instead. Both Nadda and Kharge were initially required to submit their replies by April 29. However, they requested an extension, which the Commission granted, extending the deadline to May 6.

Kharge was asked to address a complaint regarding Rahul’s alleged “false allegations” that the PM advocated for “one nation, one language, one religion”. The notice to Nadda cited complaints about the PM’s speech in Banswara, Rajasthan, last month, in which he mentioned Muslims and suggested that if the Congress were to come to power, it might distribute the nation’s wealth among “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”.

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Regarding the video shared by the Karnataka BJP, it is understood that the EC may take action under the MCC to remove the post, although a decision on whether any action will be taken against the party itself is yet to be determined.

The animation clip, accompanied by a post in Kannada stating “beware… beware… beware…!” depicts a character resembling Rahul placing a large egg labeled as ‘Muslims’ into a nest containing three smaller eggs labeled as ‘SC’, ‘ST’, and ‘OBC’. The character representing Rahul is shown chuckling with another figure resembling Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah. As the chicks hatch, the Rahul character is depicted feeding ‘funds’ to the ‘Muslim’ chick, which is shown wearing a skull cap. The ‘Muslim’ chick grows larger and eventually pushes the others out of the nest.

During his campaign speeches, Modi has accused the Congress of attempting to secure a quota for its “Muslim vote bank” at the expense of the reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs.

The Karnataka Congress lodged a complaint on Sunday, calling for action against Nadda, state BJP chief B Y Vijayendra, and the party’s national media in-charge Amit Malviya. They argued that the post was “clearly intended to incite rioting and promote hostility between different religions…”

Responding to the Congress’s complaint, Malviya stated on X, “The Congress and its ecosystem have filed FIR(s) against BJP’s national and state leadership for this post. Did the Congress expect to sneak in draconian promises in their manifesto without criticism? The Congress should actually thank the BJP for presenting their manifesto to the people in a way they couldn’t. So relax. India has seen through your malicious intentions. Now face the electorate and disappear.”

It’s been learned that the Karnataka chief electoral officer is communicating with the social media platform through a state nodal officer appointed under the Information Technology Act, 2000. X has responded by requesting that the request be forwarded through the Election Commission of India. According to the voluntary code of ethics, social media platforms are obligated to promptly act on valid legal requests from the ECI.

Last month, X stated in a release that it had taken down certain posts by political parties and candidates at the request of the ECI, despite disagreeing with the decision. The posts belonged to the Aam Aadmi Party, YSRCP, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and state BJP president Samrat Choudhary.