The BJP's campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls has relied heavily on communal hate and disinformation. This has been spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has claimed in several of his speeches that Congress will redistribute the wealth, including the mangalsutras and gold owned by women, of the citizens to Muslims, whom he described as 'ghuspetiyo' or infiltrators and 'those who produce more children' in a public meeting in Rajasthan's Banswara on April 21. Other union ministers, including Amit Shah and Anurag Thakur, and several BJP leaders followed suit.
In an attempt to further villainize Muslims in the country, the BJP has been releasing animated videos to 'exhibit' Congress' wealth redistribution plan.
BJP4India
The first video was released by the BJP's official handle (@BJP4India) on Instagram. The video had received a whopping 1.6 Million views on the platform before being taken down. The animated clip, a poll pitch by the BJP, vilifies Muslims through harmful stereotyping and shows Congress leader Rahul Gandhi holding what appeared to be the party's election manifesto, which soon transforms into a book with a crescent-and-star iconography.
BJP's campaign video further states Muslims have been prioritised in India since ancient times. "Ancient India was really beautiful. We were so rich and prosperous that each and every average citizen had plenty of gold, plenty of wealth, and plenty of riches. And it was this prosperity that made 'infiltrators' and robbers repeatedly invade India. They looted all our wealth and distributed it among themselves. Besides, they destroyed our temples. Congress has been empowering the people of this community. Congress party's manifesto is nothing but the Muslim League's ideology in disguise. If you are a non-Muslim, Congress will snatch your wealth and distribute it to Muslims. Narendra Modi knows of this evil plan. Only he has the strength to prevent it."
The video, posted on Instagram on April 30, was taken down from the platform after many users reported the clip for hate speech. Alt News, too, wrote to Meta on May 1 highlighting how the video violated the platform's policies. Several users who reported the clip received a notification from Instagram saying that the video had already been removed. It is unclear whether the clip was removed by the BJP or Instagram's moderation team.
BJP4Karnataka
In an animated video posted on May 4 on BJP4Karnataka's official Instagram account, a nest with three eggs is depicted, each labelled 'SC', 'ST', and 'OBC'. An additional egg, labelled 'Muslims', is added by a figure created through animation resembling Rahul Gandhi. Another character resembling Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah is depicted laughing alongside Rahul. As the eggs hatch, the bird emerging from the 'Muslim' egg appears larger and is adorned with a skullcap and a beard. Rahul Gandhi is portrayed as feeding this larger bird labeled 'funds', while the others remain unfed. Over time, the bird grows in size and dominates the others, resulting in Rahul and Siddaramaiah laughing in triumph. The caption warns, "Beware!"
When put in context with BJP's campaign strategy which has relied strongly on communal polarization, it is clear that the video is an attack on Muslims. It insinuates that if the Congress government is voted into power, they will allocate all of the 'funds' to the Muslims. The video attempts to garner votes through fearmongering and vilifying the Muslim community.
The video also violated the election model code of conduct stipulated by the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which debars political parties from using religious tropes sentiment in poll campaigns.
The Congress's Karnataka unit filed a complaint regarding the video to police in Bengaluru, following which an FIR was filed against BJP president J P Nadda, its IT cell chief Amit Malviya and its Karnataka state chief B Y Vijayendra. The FIR accused the above persons of acting with intentions of 'provocating rioting and promoting enmity' between religious groups. It also alleged that the video 'was prejudicial to maintenance of harmony apart from intimidating members of SC/ST community not to vote for a particular candidate and causing enmity against members of SC/ST community'.
The Election Commission then issued a statement on the day of polling in Karnataka asking X (formerly Twitter) to remove the video posted by the BJP's Karnataka unit, citing violations of the existing legal framework.
The video was still accessible on Instagram after the Election Commission's statement. It is pertinent to note that the video violates Meta's hate speech policy which clearly states that the platform prohibits content that "attacks concepts, institutions, ideas, practices or beliefs associated with protected characteristics, which are likely to contribute to imminent physical harm, intimidation or discrimination against the people associated with that protected characteristic."
According to its policy, Facebook looks at a range of signs to determine whether there is a threat of harm in the content which include but are not limited to: "content that could incite imminent violence or intimidation; whether there is a period of heightened tension such as an election or ongoing conflict; and whether there is a recent history of violence against the targeted protected group." In an email to Meta, Alt News documented the policy violations. The video has since been taken down.
The police had summoned BJP Karnataka Social Media Cell Convenor Prashant Makanur on Thursday, May 9, in connection with a social media post allegedly against members of the SC and ST communities. TMakanur was let off as he had obtained anticipatory bail.
Telangana MP
Telangana MP and BJP leader Arvind Dharmapuri shared another video on Sunday, May 6, which was based on similar anti-Muslim tropes seen in the previous videos. This video shows animated figures resembling Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, consistent with those in the Karnataka video. The continuity in animation style strongly suggests that the creator of both videos is the same.
The animated video depicts a boat labelled 'SC, ST, OBC Quota', with individuals prepared to set sail. 'Rahul Gandhi' and 'Siddaramaiah' are shown ushering a Muslim man (wearing a skullcap) aboard, requesting space for him. Once accommodated, the man is portrayed smiling deviously and offering his 'vote' to Gandhi before boarding. More Muslim individuals, including women and children, are depicted as joining the boat, with Gandhi instructing those already on board to make room. Subsequently, the earlier Muslim passenger is shown forcefully pushing the original occupants into the water. The boat's original labels 'SC, ST, OBC' are crossed out, and replaced with 'Muslim' written in Telugu. The animated depictions of Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah are shown laughing at the chaos.
The video then transitions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving to rescue those in distress upon hearing their cries, set to the background score of the movie, 'Baahubali 2'. Modi's boat, marked with 'Jai Shri Ram' in Telugu, rescues the people from the water and transfers them to the boat named 'SC, ST, OBC Quota'.
Earlier, acting on a complaint filed by Congress, the ECI on April 25 had sought a response from BJP president J P Nadda on the alleged hate speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public event in Rajasthan's Banswara on April 21. By invoking Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, the ECI emphasized that the heads of political parties were accountable for the statements made by a 'star campaigner'. The notice did not mention Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name. The Commission clarified that while the individual star campaigner remains responsible for their speeches, it would communicate with the party president or head of the political party on a case-by-case basis, as stated in the notice.
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