Uttarakhand BJP accuses former CM of supporting 'Muslim appeasement', Rawat warns of FIR

Dehradun, Dec 21 (PTI) Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat demanded an apology from the BJP after its state unit uploaded a reel on its official social media page, accusing the Congress leader of supporting Muslim appeasement.

The former chief minister, angered by this, has warned the BJP to apologise and remove it immediately, failing which he will file an FIR against them and stage a protest outside their office.

The AI-generated reel begins with former chief minister Harish 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) into a land of "mazaars".

At the end of the reel, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is seen walking with police forces and bulldozers.

The twenty-nine-second reel reads, "The Congress, blinded by the lust for power, has always only cared about its own chair, even if it means compromising the sanctity of 'Devbhoomi'." The reel further states, "In its greed for vote bank politics, 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 read.

Rawat said, "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 at the police station. I will also file a complaint against you under cybercrime laws." Rawat also warned of staging a protest outside the BJP office for seven consecutive days.

In a social media post, Harish Rawat said that a malicious attempt is 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".

Expressing surprise, the former chief minister said, "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." Commenting on this, the state unit president of the BJP, Mahendra Bhatt, said that it is the Congress's agenda to appease certain groups and then, when allegations are made, to create a hue and cry.

He said, "This image of Congress's appeasement politics is so deeply ingrained in the public's mind that they cannot get rid of it even if they want to." Bhatt also said that if the Congress leader wants to file a police report in this regard, he is welcome to do so, and his party has no objection to it. PTI DPT SHS