New Delhi: Delhi Police on Saturday registered an FIR against the Congress and its IT cell after the party’s Bihar unit posted a video on social media, allegedly mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his mother.
The case was registered based on a complaint by Sanket Gupta, convenor of BJP’s Delhi Election Cell.
Multiple sections, including those dealing with defamation, insult to women, offences that may pertain to digital misuse, and also under relevant provisions of the IT Act and Digital Data Protection law, have been invoked in the FIR.
The video, which was shared on X on September 10, allegedly depicts Modi in a dreamlike conversation with a figure resembling his late mother Heeraben in a distorted manner.
Marked ‘AI GENERATED’, the 36-second clip has been widely shared online.
The BJP saw it as a personal attack on PM Modi, even as Congress defended the video saying there is no disrespect towards anyone.
The complaint, submitted to the North Avenue police station, stated that the visuals are defamatory and offend the dignity of PM Modi’s mother, as well as motherhood in general.
According to BJP, the video was released as a political provocation, timed ahead of Bihar Assembly elections which are due in October-November.
Congress defence
Denying any disrespect being shown, Congress described the clip as a form of advice or commentary rather than insult.
“Where is the disrespect shown to his late mother? Show me one word, one gesture, anywhere that you see disrespect. It is the duty of a parent to educate their child. She is only educating her child and if the child thinks that it is disrespectful towards him, it is his headache, not mine, not yours,” senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said.
This is the second time in a fortnight that the PM and his mother’s names have been dragged into political controversy.
During Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar, joined by RJD, slogans maligning Modi and his mother were allegedly raised from the stage in Darbhanga on August 27. The current police complaint also refers to that incident.
The Prime Minister had responded sharply, saying the incident was “unimaginable” and “an insult to all mothers, sisters and daughters of the country.”
