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New Delhi: In a shocking development, the Election Commission has barred BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao from campaigning for 48 hours for violating the Model Code of Conduct.
“The Commission, without prejudice to any order or notice issued or to be issued in the future relating to MCC violations to Sh. K. Chandrashekar Rao, President, BRS, hereby strongly condemns the impugned statement made by him during his press meet in Sircilla on April 5, 2024 and reprimands Sh. K. Chandrasekar Rao for the above-mentioned misconduct,” the Election Commission said in a statement.
Citing Article 324 of the Constitution, the Election Commission has barred K Chandrashekar Rao from holding any public meetings, public processions, public rallies, shows and interviews, or public utterances in media (electronic, print, or social media) for 48 hours starting at 8 PM Thursday.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) has accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of spreading fake news and misleading the public after Delhi Police issued a summons to him over an alleged fake video involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah, claiming that he has not received any notice.
“If the CM of Telangana himself is working on spreading fake news while he has not received any notice, his name is not even there. But he is busy spreading rumours that he has received a notice and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is attacking him,” KTR said while talking to ANI on Tuesday.
“He is trying to mislead the people by creating a false narrative. This means that Revanth Reddy is desperate and can lie for the sake of showing off. Despite having complete information, today he is trying to mislead the people of Telangana. Revanth Reddy should apologize to the people of Telangana,” KTR urged CM Revanth Reddy to apologize for spreading rumours.
Earlier, the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police issued summons to 16 individuals across 7 to 8 states in connection with the circulation of a ‘doctored’ video featuring Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
According to police sources, those summoned include six members of the ruling Congress in Telangana, including Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. They, along with other people from several states, were asked to appear for questioning on May 1 at the IFSO unit in Delhi’s Dwarka.
In the alleged ‘fake’ video, the Union Home Minister is purportedly heard saying that the BJP stands against the reservations in the country. However, the BJP has since flagged the viral clip as fake.
The summons were issued under Sections 91 and 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), asking the persons concerned to join the investigation and provide relevant documents and electronic devices as evidence.
CrPC Section 160 allows police to summon a person for investigation, while Section 91 allows police to seek specific documents or gadgets to be presented as evidence. Earlier, on Monday, the Delhi Police summoned the Telangana CM in connection with the ‘fake’ video involving the Union Home Minister, sources said.
The police stated that it is to be seen who joins the investigation in person and who sends their responses via email on May 1. Based on their submissions or responses, the probe will be taken forward, the officers informed.
All those summoned were asked to bring their mobile phones and laptops along with them.
Assam Police on Monday arrested Reetom Singh, the first person to be arrested in connection with the ‘doctored’ video case, sources said. It is alleged that the video clip was shared by several Congress leaders.
Earlier, the BJP’s Telangana unit filed a complaint against CM and the Congress’ state chief, Revanth Reddy, at the Cyber Crime police station, accusing the party of fabricating and morphing the speech of Amit Shah.
(With inputs from agencies)
