In a dramatic political showdown, former Uttarakhand chief minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat led a protest march to the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Dehradun on Thursday. The demonstration was triggered by a controversial AI-generated video that falsely portrayed Rawat as a "spy" and accused him of minority appeasement.
March to BJP Office and Police Scuffle
The protest saw Congress members, including Rawat, marching towards the BJP state office. The situation escalated briefly into a scuffle with police personnel who were deployed to manage the crowd. Undeterred, the Congress leaders and workers staged a sit-in protest at the site, holding placards and chanting slogans against the ruling state government.
"We won't give up till the time truth comes to the fore," declared a resolute Harish Rawat during the protest. He directly challenged the BJP, stating, "I'm not a spy. Now, either they (BJP) give me proof that I'm a spy or they've to apologise." Rawat expressed his frustration with what he called a recurring electoral tactic, alleging that before every election, the BJP resorts to such methods to mislead voters.
FIR Filed Against 'Unknown' Social Media Users
Prior to the protest, on Tuesday, Harish Rawat had taken formal legal action by filing a complaint at the Nehru Colony police station in Dehradun. Based on his application, an FIR was registered against 'unknown' social media users under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology (IT) Act.
In his FIR, Rawat claimed that the derogatory AI-generated video was uploaded on the official social media page operated by the BJP's Uttarakhand unit on December 18. He alleged that the state BJP president and other associate members were behind the page. The video, he stated, was designed to portray him as "anti-national" and severely tarnish his public image.
"I am deeply hurt by this act as I have no connection whatsoever with this video and I am very distressed after seeing this (clip), which inflames religious sentiments," the former chief minister wrote in his application.
History of Allegations and BJP's Response
Rawat also referenced past elections, claiming that similar baseless allegations were levelled against him during the 2017 and 2022 Uttarakhand assembly polls. He recalled that the BJP had previously accused him of granting leave for Friday namaz and spreading misleading news about a Congress government planning to build a Muslim university.
In response to the controversy, the Uttarakhand BJP unit distanced itself from the viral video. BJP's state media in-charge, Manveer Singh Chauhan, stated that the video was neither created by the party nor was it their intention to damage anyone's reputation. He added, "If any case has been filed by Harish Rawat, it will be probed, as the party also wants investigation of such clips and it will follow all legal procedures."
The incident highlights the growing concern around the malicious use of artificial intelligence to create deepfakes and synthetic media for political sabotage, setting a tense stage for the political discourse in the state.
