Uttarakhand BJP accuses ex-CM Harish Rawat of 'Muslim appeasement' he warns of action
Uttarakhand BJP accuses ex-CM Harish Rawat of 'Muslim appeasement' he warns of action
M.U.H
23/12/202522
Dehradun, Dec 22 (PTI) Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat has demanded an apology from the BJP after its state unit uploaded a reel on its official social media page, accusing the veteran Congress leader of "Muslim appeasement".
Rawat asked the BJP to apologise and remove the reel immediately, failing which he said he would file an FIR and stage a protest outside the party's office.
The AI-generated reel begins with Rawat saying, "Muslim Sharanam Gacchami, Mazar Sharanam Gacchami, Love Jihad Sharanam Gacchami" (I take refuge in Muslims, I take refuge in shrines, I take refuge in 'love jihad').
The subsequent images reportedly show the construction of a 'mazaar' and some people smiling and talking about turning 'Devbhoomi' (the land of gods) of Uttarakhand into a land of 'mazaars'.
At the end of the reel, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is seen walking with police and bulldozers.
The 29-second reel says, "The Congress, blinded by the lust for power, has always only cared about the (CM's) chair, even if it means compromising the sanctity of 'Devbhoomi'."
"In its greed for vote bank politics, the Congress had completely changed the demography of the hills, but not anymore. Under the BJP government, every infiltrator will be held accountable and shown the door.
Tampering with the culture and demography of Devbhoomi will no longer be tolerated," it said.
In a social media post, Rawat said a malicious attempt was being made to create a false narrative against him using AI, which only exposes the true nature of the BJP and the so-called "powerful Dhami".
"What kind of BJP is this whose official pages are spreading nothing but lies? Political attacks are being launched against political opponents with the help of lies," he said.
Rawat warned the BJP of action if it did not take down the video.
If an apology is not issued for the lies and the content is not removed, I will be forced to file a FIR against you... I will also file a complaint against you under cybercrime laws," he said.
He also threatened to hold a week-long protest outside the BJP office if the video was not taken down.
Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt claimed it is the Congress' agenda to appease certain groups.
This image of the Congress appeasement politics is so deeply ingrained in the public's mind that they cannot get rid of it even if they want to," he said.
Bhatt said if Rawat wanted to file a police report in this matter, he was welcome to do so.
