Late night on Thursday (November 8), the Gujarat police re-arrested Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale in a case related to his tweet about the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy.

Gokhale had, on December 1 tweeted a news clipping about information purportedly obtained through the Right to Information claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Morbi after the bridge collapse cost Rs 30 crore. The TMC spokesperson, a former Congress RTI activist and son of a retired police officer, was granted bail after he was produced before the court in Ahmedabad on Thursday following the completion of his police custody but was soon arrested in another case registered by Morbi police.

The Trinamool Congress had stated that it has sent a three-member delegation to Morbi, after the development. “BJP4Gujarat’s nefarious agenda is out again,” it tweeted. “Our National spokesperson @SaketGokhale was arrested again moments after his release by the Gujarat Police, with no good reason.”

Alleging that all people’s democratic rights are under threat, the TMC has sought Saket Gokhale’s “unconditional release”. TMC leader Derek O’Brien has accused the Election Commission of India of “looking away” while BJP leaders spread communal messages before the state polls, but pointed out that the police was quick to act on the charges against Gokhale. “No wonder SC thinks EC is a stooge,” he stated. His remarks gain prominence as the second case against Gokhale has been filed by an election officer.

“RTI reveals that Modi’s visit to Morbi for a few hours cost Rs 30 cr. Of this, Rs 5.5 cr was purely for “welcome, event management, & photography,” Gokhale had tweeted. On Tuesday, the Press Information Bureau tweeted a ‘fact check’ saying the information was fake. The news clipping appeared to be from a local Gujarati newspaper.

An FIR was registered against Gokhale on the charges of forgery and printing defamatory content and he was arrested on December 6. After he was granted bail on Thursday (December 8), the Morbi police re-arrested him in a case under the Representation of People Act. This second case, according to the Times of India, was filed by an election officer in Morbi, D.A. Jhala.

The prime minister had visited Gujarat on November 1, a day after a suspension bridge – just reopened after repairs – on the Machchu river in Morbi town collapsed, leaving 135 people dead.

On December 6, 2022 Gujarat Police detained Saket Gokhale, the national spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress (TMC), for allegedly promoting a fake news story concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Morbi in response to the October bridge collapse tragedy.

According to those with knowledge of the situation, Gokhale has been arrested by the police on suspicion of uploading on Twitter a “false RTI reply” detailing the millions of rupees the government spent on PM Modi’s visit to Morbi in Gujarat.

As reported by the PTI, the Indian Penal Code Sections 465, 469, and 471 (all of which deal with forgery) and 501 (printing or engraving materials known to be defamatory) were the basis of the FIR, according to police.

Gokhale’s arrest was allegedly the result of a “political vendetta” according to the Trinamool Congress (TMC). TMC national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien provided more information about the arrest in a tweet. On December 5, Gokhale boarded a flight from New Delhi to Jaipur at 9 p.m. When he arrived, the Gujarat Police was waiting for him at the airport in Rajasthan, where they picked him up. According to O’Brien, Gokhale called his mother at 2:00 am on December 6 to inform her that he was being taken by the police to Ahmedabad and would arrive there by noon.

The TMC spokesperson said on Twitter that the police had taken his phone and all of his things after allowing him to make a two-minute phone conversation. “The cooked up case is filed with the Ahmedabad cyber cell about Saket’s tweet on the Morbi bridge collapse. All this cannot silence the All India Trinamool Congress and the Opposition. BJP taking political vendetta to another level,” he alleged.

Related:

Is Saket Gokhale being selectively targeted for spreading ‘fake’ news?

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On December 6, 2022 Gujarat Police detained Saket Gokhale, the national spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress (TMC), for allegedly promoting a fake news story concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Morbi in response to the October bridge collapse tragedy.

According to those with knowledge of the situation, Gokhale has been arrested by the police on suspicion of uploading on Twitter a “false RTI reply” detailing the millions of rupees the government spent on PM Modi’s visit to Morbi in Gujarat.

As reported by the PTI, the Indian Penal Code Sections 465, 469, and 471 (all of which deal with forgery) and 501 (printing or engraving materials known to be defamatory) were the basis of the FIR, according to police.

Gokhale’s arrest was allegedly the result of a “political vendetta,” according to the Trinamool Congress (TMC). TMC national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien provided more information about the arrest in a tweet. On December 5, Gokhale boarded a flight from New Delhi to Jaipur at 9 p.m. When he arrived, the Gujarat Police was waiting for him at the airport in Rajasthan, where they picked him up. According to O’Brien, Gokhale called his mother at 2:00 am on December 6 to inform her that he was being taken by the police to Ahmedabad and would arrive there by noon.

The TMC spokesperson said on Twitter that the police had taken his phone and all of his things after allowing him to make a two-minute phone conversation. “The cooked up case is filed with the Ahmedabad cyber cell about Saket’s tweet on the Morbi bridge collapse. All this cannot silence the All India Trinamool Congress and the Opposition. BJP taking political vendetta to another level,” he alleged.

Later, Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the TMC and the chief minister of West Bengal, supported Gokhale and denounced the “vindictive attitude” of the BJP administration. Banerjee, who is currently in Rajasthan, added that Gokhale didn’t make a mistake.

Gokhale, 35, tweeted a screenshot by a twitter account called @thedaxpatel which quoted a Gujarat Samachar article claiming an RTI had revealed that Rs. 30 Crore was spent on PM Modi’s visit to Morbi in the aftermath of the bridge collapse. Gujarat Samachar has reportedly denied filing any such RTI.  There were about 135 fatalities from the bridge accident. On November 1, the PM travelled to the town in his native state, where he also met the injured people and saw the scene of the disaster. The twitter account @thedaxpatel could not be found on twitter at the time of writing this article. 

Is arrest the norm for spreading fake news?

The menace of fake news is not a recent issue in India, it has not just proliferated but appears to be actively promoted, often even generating social tensions, outbreaks of violence. Political parties and prominent personalities in India have tried to gain political advantage by polarising the elector/voter’s mind by providing “news” with “dubious content” with the intention of deceiving them. This also leads to an intensification of tensions between different sections of society. The above instance, where a political personality tweeted an alleged fake news, was not an exceptional circumstance. Nevertheless, the action taken over the same was disproportionate, an arrest. 

While it is true that every fake news has the potential of disturbing the social fabric of the society, leading to creation of tensions among communities or even violence and riots, there is a history of inaction and indifference to such attempts, thus raising suspicion that the recent arrest was made out of political rivalry or even vendetta.

Some examples of such attempts of spreading fake news where the perpetrators have fortunately not been deprived of their personal liberty are:

• Colonial Navy Symbol Fiasco: In September, 2022, India Today anchor Shiv Aroor did a show wherein he claimed that Manmohan Singh’s government had the Indian Navy bring back a colonial ensign after it was banished during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s rule. Aroor’s point of outrage, implied if not explicit, was that while the BJP, from Vajpayee to Modi, cared for India’s nationalist ethos while the Congress was far removed from it. 

• When the said claims were fact checked by Alt News, it was revealed that the ensign was not reintroduced under Manmohan Singh but under Vajpayee. Additionally, the colonial ensign was not brought back, apparently on the Navy’s request, not for any sentimental reason but because it needed to be visible in the open sea. No such punitive action has been taken against Shiv Aroor. 

• Shraadha Walkar case fake identity video: On November 21, a video was shared by many known faces on the right including Priti Gandhi, national social media in-charge for the BJP, where a man was being interviewed about the Shraddha Walker murder case. The man can be heard saying that it was “normal” for Aaftab, the accused in the Shraddha murder case, to cut Shraddha’s body into 35 parts. In fact, if a man is angry, they can even cut the body into more than 35 parts. When asked about his hometown, the man replies by stating that he is from Bulandshehar and his name is Rashid Khan.  Priti Gandhi had shared the video with the caption, “Meet Rashid Khan from Bulandshahr. He strongly believes that it is absolutely normal for Aftab to have chopped Shraddha into 35 pieces. Where are we headed?” 

• On November 25, the Bulandshahr Police notified that the man in the video has been arrested and his real name is not Rashid Khan but Vikas Kumar who already had multiple cases lodged against him. He was later arrested. No action, however, was taken against Priti Gandhi for spreading fake news, a powerful persona of the party in power. No action was taken against the youtube ‘news’ channel that aired the video either . In fact, the video still exists online. In fact multiple tweets from verified accounts that still identify Vikas Kumar as Rashid Khan and use that fact to spread hatred, are still up on the microblogging site. 

• JNU Doctored Video: In 2016, it was alleged that Shilpi Tiwari, a close aide of Union HRD minister Smriti Irani, was  behind the circulation of one of the ‘doctored’ JNU videos. At least two out of the seven video clips of alleged ‘anti-national’ sloganeering in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) captured on 9 and 11 February are believed to have been ‘doctored’. Tiwari was also the campaign manager for Irani during the Lok Sabha election in Amethi. The forensic report had said the second video shared online by Shilpi had ‘discrepancies’ in the lip sync as the audio and video streams were from different sources and “merged with an intention to make these recordings appear as representations of true events.” Even though this news was picked up by mainstream media, there was no action taken against Shilpi. Her personal freedom was not denied.

• Shaheen Bagh fake news: In January, 2020 Amit Malviya, the powerful head of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell, shared a video on social media of a random group of persons claiming that the women of Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh are being paid to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Malviya’s allegation was found baseless by a collaborative Alt News-Newslaundry investigation.  

• Covid-19 cure fiasco by Ramdev:  A First Information Report was filed against yoga preacher, Ramdev and four others for allegedly conspiring to sell a fake Ayurveda medicine with the misleading claim to cure COVID-19 following clinical trials on some patients. Patanjali claimed ‘Coronil’ and ‘Swasari’ had shown “100% favourable results” during clinical trials on affected patients, at Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar. The FIR said the claim had been made without getting the Union AYUSH Ministry’s approval. While the FIR was filed, no arrest or further action was taken against Ramdev. 

• Bombs hurled at West Bengal Schools: In February, 2022, News18 aired an unverified and misleading live debate programme titled ‘Toh hijab ke liye bam barsaenge?/ Danke ki chot par’ (Translation: Asking openly- So will bombs be hurled for hijab?). The show appeared to be stigmatising and demeaning the Muslim community on national television by broadcasting unverified news. It was revealed by fact-checkers and news portals such as Alt News and The Print, that in truth, there were no bombs being hurled during the protest, and the claims made by News 18 were not supported by any ground reports or statements from local administration officials. 

• It was only after CJP moved NBDSA, filed a complaint and presented their case during online hearings was the show then removed. But, even after the facts presented were found wrong, there was no action taken against the host, Rima Prasad. Her personal freedom, fortuitously was not curtailed. 

• Vaccine Jihad Propaganda: A show titled कट्ट़रपंथियों से सीधे सवाल करने वाला बहुत बड़ा खुलासा | देश में कौन कर रहा है Vaccine वाला जिहाद ? (Translation: Fanatics to be questioned on this big revelation. Who is involved in “Vaccine jihad” in the country?) was aired on May 30, 2021 that showed one Niha Khan, a nurse, who allegedly wasted around 29 syringes by inserting it into people’s arms but not administering it and disposing it. It was found that the video on basis of which the show created this communal narrative was in fact of some other country, thus the channel was responsible for spreading fake news and utter misinformation. The hosts of the show constantly used offensive and discriminatory terminology to give the alleged incident a communal angle. 

CJP had filed a complaint with the NBDSA against Zee Media’s channel Zee Hindustan show about a so-called big revelation that involved “Vaccine jihad” in the country. While the channel was ordered to be taken down, there was no action taken against the host of the show.

Conclusion

On the contentious and divisive issue of fake news, there are many who are notoriously active on the part of the ruling party and its right wing ecosystem, and have been often accused of spreading misinformation and hate online. The only difference lies in the fact that while in this case Saket Gokhale allegedly made false claims in his tweet about the Prime Minister, these accounts use the menace of fake news to promote their divisive propaganda.

While there is no specific law against fake news in India, sections of Indian criminal law are regularly applied to criminalise free speech of those who may be critical of the current dispensation. However any action is conspicuously found wanting if the offenders/practitioners of fake news enjoy political patronage. While denial of personal liberty –arrest (as in the case of Saket Gokhale) cannot be the course that any established democracy should take to tackle the phenomena of fake news, selective application of criminal law, albeit unjustly, just further spreads the climate of immunity for those in powerful positions whose agenda is not dissemination of information but spreading hate and division.

Related:

CJP moves NBDSA against News18’s fake story on bombing in Bengal School

CJP Impact: NBDSA directs Zee News to take down video of communal show on Population Control

Fact-Finding Report of Himmatnagar and Khambhat Riots in Gujarat

Hate Buster! Kolkata cop was not killed by mob protesting Nupur Sharma’s anti-Prophet comments

Hate Buster: Harsha Jingade’s sister does not support calls to boycott Muslim businesses

The post Is Saket Gokhale being selectively targeted for spreading ‘fake’ news? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Activist Saket Gokhale had filed an Intervention Application (IA) before the Supreme Court asking for the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PMCARES) Fund to be made a respondent in the suo motu case being heard by the court on relief efforts related to Covid-19.

Gokahle, a well-known RTI activist, said, “I’ve filed an Intervention Application this morning in Supreme Court’s suo moto case on Covid-19. My application prays that PMCARES Fund be made a respondent in the case and furnish all details as it claims to be a dedicated (yet private) Covid-19 fund.” Explaining the rationale behind his move, Gokhale said, “The Govt of India has submitted in the Supreme Court that it cannot dictate vaccine prices as it hasn’t funded the research. However, PMCARES Fund did give 100 crores for vaccine development. And maybe more that it hasn’t disclosed. Ergo, it should be made a respondent & give all necessary disclosures is what I’ve prayed.”

What is PMCARES?

PMCARES Fund was set up on March 28, 2020, with the primary objective to deal with any kind of emergency situation like the one currently posed by the Covid-19 outbreak and provide relief to those affected. The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairman of the fund and the defence, home and finance ministers are its ex-officio trustees.

Why so mysterious?

Ever since the PMCARES Fund was set up, questions have been raised about the opacity of its operations. An RTI application seeking the trust deed of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PMCARES) Fund elicited a response from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) stating that the trust fund is not a public authority. The RTI application was filed by Harsha Kandukuri, a student of LLM at Azim Premji University, seeking copies of the trust deed and all government orders, circulars and notifications related to its creation and functioning.

The Fund has been the subject of several court cases. A petition at the Delhi High Court seeks to bring PM CARES under the ambit of the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) so that all the information such as amount collected, utilised can be readily available for the public at large. Another petition at Delhi High Court has challenged the rejection of information on PM CARES Fund by the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) in response to an RTI application.

In May 2020, a petition was filed before the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court seeking an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) into the PMCARES Fund. In June, a public Interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions that the Centre transfers all contributions of the PM CARES Fund to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and that it formulates a National Plan as per the Disaster Management Act. This petition was dismissed by the SC in August 2020.

Saket Gokhale’s previous concerns about PMCARES

On December 17, 2020, Gokhale wrote to Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla seeking prosecution sanction to initiate proceedings against Pradeep Kumar Srivastava who is the Under Secretary (Funds) in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and one of the officials responsible for handling the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PMCARES) Fund.

Gokhale wanted to initiate action against Srivastava and others handling the fund under provisions of the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005. Gokhale’s letter quotes from the trust deed of PM CARES fund that says, “This trust is not created under the Constitution of India or by any law made by Parliament or by any State Legislature.” It adds, “There is no control of either the Central Government or any State Government/s, either direct or indirect in functioning of the Trust in any matter whatsoever.”

This passage is what Gokhale used as the basis for challenging the usage of the national emblem that as per law may only be used by official government entities for official government purposes.

Related:

Is the PMCARES Fund using the national emblem illegally?
Plea in Bombay HC seeks CAG audit of PM CARES fund  
Plea in SC demanding transfer of funds from PM CARES to NDRF
Appellate Authority also says PM CARES not public authority
PM CARES not a Public Authority says PMO, in response to RTI query

The post Activist moves SC to include PM CARES Fund as respondent in Covid case appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“Election Commission of India literally hired the BJP IT Cell for handling their social media in Maharashtra in the run-up to the 2019 State Assembly Elections,” posted journalist-activist Saket Gokhale.

Shocking details:

Election Commission of India literally hired the BJP IT Cell for handling their social media in Maharashtra in the run-up to the 2019 State Assembly Elections.

Thread ?

— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) July 23, 2020

Gokhale, well known to social media user as an activist, then went on to share the details of how he tracked the link between the election commission’s official Mumbai voter awareness campaign and a Mumbai based digital advertising, marketing, social media agency called Social Central. Gokhale tracked the digital footprints of the agency to discover that it was owned by one Devang Dave, who is the national convener of IT & social media for BJP’s Youth Wing BJYM.

“Guess who shows up on his client list on his website,” asked Gokhale and posted all his findings on Social media. This created a sensation, and prompted a reaction from Election Commission of India spokesperson Sheyphali Sharan, who posted, “Regarding tweet of Mr Gokhale @SaketGokhale, Commission has sought detailed factual report in this matter from CEO Maharashtra with respect to alleged locale of the incidence immediately.”

Regarding tweet of Mr Gokhale @SaketGokhale, Commission has sought detailed factual report in this matter from CEO Maharashtra with respect to alleged locale of the incidence immediately.

— Sheyphali Sharan (@SpokespersonECI) July 23, 2020

As expected the CEO Maharashtra called Gokhale’s revelations “misleading and incorrect to suggest that the office of chief electoral officer has engaged any agency on political considerations.” It added that the electoral awareness campaign was “launched through an agency engaged by the information and public relations department(DGIPR), Government of Maharashtra.”

As per standard practice, electoral awareness campaign is launched through an agency engaged by the information and public relations department(DGIPR), Government of Maharashtra.

— ChiefElectoralOffice (@CEO_Maharashtra) July 24, 2020

Nevertheless the Election Commission has sought a report from Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on the matter. Gokhale has put in public domain how he tracked the links between the Maharashtra CEO’s social media ads encouraging people to vote in the 2019 elections, and found that advertiser’s address was “202 Pressman House” in Vile Parle East, Mumbai. According to a report in The Hindu, the registrar of companies lists Signpost India Private Limited at this address, and another firm, named Social Central Media Solutions LLP (based at 70A, 601 Pressman House,) describes itself as “Signpost India Company” on its website, and listed the Maharashtra CEO among its clients.

Social Central’s managing director Devang Virendra Dave, was also listed as “Incharge” of “National Social Media and IT” on the website of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. The  Hindu reported that Social Central’s website carries a testimonial attributed to Shirish Mohod, deputy CEO during last year’s Assembly polls, that says, “I want to appreciate Social Central Media Solutions to all your creative inputs and effective implementation of the digital campaign which has helped us in our endeavour of reaching out to non-registered voters of our state.”

While trying to clear his stand, Devang Dave too posted a tweet that instead seems to link him to the CEO-sponsored campaign, “We do not earn our bread and butter by doing any kind of ‘Dalali’ but by Hardwork. The work assigned by Election Commission to Signpost was after following due process. There is no illegality whatsoever. Is it also forbidden for political activists to make an honest living?” he posted, adding, “ECI and the Industry has also appreciated the work done Am I Not allowed professional engagements just because I support an ideology, a certain people doesn’t agree with? Or is targeting people based on their ideological leanings the new thing to vent out frustration? (2/4)”

We do not earn our bread and butter by doing any kind of “Dalali” but by Hardwork

The work assigned by Election Commission to Signpost was after following due process.There is no illegality whatsoever.

Is it also forbidden for political activists to make an honest living? (1/4)

— Devang Dave (@DevangVDave) July 24, 2020

He went on to attack Gokhale without naming him and said, “(SIC) this are same people who were against CAA. This are same people who are against Ram Mandir. This are same people who are against Idea Of Bharat!”

Even as he constituted to share the links, Gokhale stated, “It is beyond SHOCKING that the Election Commission chose a BJP IT cell guy & his agency to handle their social media for Maharashtra elections. ECI is supposed to be monitoring social media of parties during election. Here, they *literally* worked with the ruling party.”

The Hindu reporter asked the ECI spokesman about the rules for hiring private firms, and was told that “the selection was done by the CEOs and that the Election Commission in Delhi was not involved.” The newspaper sought a reply from Baldev Singh, the current CEO, who sent a WhatsApp message stating, “It is misleading and incorrect to suggest that the office of chief electoral officer has issued any advertisement through any agency on political considerations. As per standard practice, electoral awareness campaign is launched through the information and public relations department (DGIPR), Government of Maharashtra. They, in turn, follow a laid-down procedure for selecting an appropriate agency for public awareness and not by CEO Office.”

He added, “For the specific imputation made in the tweet of Mr Saket Gokhale, an interim reply of facts has been sent to Election Commission of India. Meanwhile, some other representations on the matter have been received from some public representatives, which are also being addressed and a detailed response in this regard shall be sent to the commission soon.”

Gokhale, has called it “This was electoral fraud” adding that it is more than a political hold over  ECI’s social media, and alleged that “crucial voter data might have been transferred from ECI to the BJP.”

Every effort is being made by Modi govt to stall the investigation of the ECI & bury it.

And this is because it wasn’t just BJP handling ECI’s social media – it’s because crucial voter data might have been transferred from ECI to the BJP.

This was electoral fraud.

— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) July 25, 2020

He stated that he has more to reveal on what he has termed a “nexus between the BJP/Modi govt & the Election Commission which gets bigger & goes beyond Maharashtra.?”

This of course has made him the target of trolls affiliated with the right wing. Some allegedly even reached Gokhale’s building, chanting “jai Shree Ram’ , and allegedly threatening the family. 

URGENT:

RSS WORKERS ARE OUTSIDE MY HOUSE CHANTING JAI SHRI RAM.

THEY JUST THREATENED MY MOTHER.

Request urgent assistance @AnilDeshmukhNCP ji. @Thane_R_Police pic.twitter.com/PQZ85RpQCg

— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) July 24, 2020

Gokhale complained to the local police, and an FIR was registered and security provided.

Related: 

Full page campaign ads on election day: Poll code violation?
ECI Silent on Serious Irregularities in May 2019 Gen Election

The post ECI to probe Maharashtra electoral office hiring BJP linked firm appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: indiatoday.in

Activist Saket Gokhale has filed an application under the Right to Information Act (RTI) asking the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) about the number of birth certificates digitized so far. Gokhale says this information is important amidst concerns of a National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) that has been hinted at by the government in wake of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

In a series of tweets Gokhale says, “Here’s a legal way of stalling the roll-out of the NRC: I’ve filed an RTI with the MEITY (which runs the Digital India program) asking how many birth certificates have been digitized across various states under this program. I’ve also asked from which year digitization has been done.”

He asks, “Birth certificate is a conclusive proof of citizenship for the NRC according to the govt. However, if the govt. itself doesn’t have digitized copies of birth certificates, how will it give duplicate copies to those that have lost it/don’t have it?”

Gokhale adds, “I’ll be filing a similar request with the Maharashtra Govt.” He recommends his followers try the same, “What I’d like from some of u is to file a similar request with ur respective state govt. If the govt. doesn’t have ALL birth certificates digitized, there’s no way it can expect citizens to have a copy.”

Expalining the rationale behind his RTI application, Gokhalae tweets, “Reply to this request allows us to approach High Courts praying for a writ directing state govts. to digitize ALL birth certificates. And after this is done, we bring up the issue of unregistered births/home births for which people have no proof. The govt. must first devise a policy to ensure that these people aren’t left out.”

He concludes with, “And until all this is complete, we will pray for a complete stay on NRC since citizens need access to a copy of their birth certificate. Will do EVERYTHING possible to fight and ensure that the draconian NRC is stalled indefinitely.”

A copy of Gokhale’s application may be viewed here:

SabrangIndia’s sister organisation Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) that has been running a campaign for over a year to help Indian citizens in Assam navigate the tortuous processes involved in the update of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), has reported previously about how documentary proof of citizenship is actually a conspiracy of exclusion.

When it comes to birth certificates, it is important to note that the Registration of Births and Deaths Act was enacted in 1969. This act made it compulsory to register all births. However, according to UNICEF, “The current registration level of births and deaths in the country is about 58% for births and 54% for deaths. Each year about 42% of births go unregistered, which is about 10 million births.” Now if this is the case today, imagine what it was like back in the time of our parents and grandparents! Will they declare people ‘infiltrators’ or ‘non-citizens’ in case their parents don’t have birth certificates?

The post How many Birth Certificates digitized across states: Activist files RTI appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: opindia

In his written complaint, which he appeals to be treated as an F.I.R., Gokhale writes, “I’m sure you’d appreciate that in this day and age of social media, such hate speech has massive ramifications on public order and harmony. Moreover, it is also argued that such hate speech targeting a particular community on ground of religion is clear instance of promoting enmity and creating disharmony in the society.”
 
Read the entire complaint here:

While Madhu Kishwar has promoted multiple instances of fake news in the past and Advocate Prashant Bhushan had even gone ahead and registered a criminal complaint against her in 2018 calling her tweets an intention “to incite communal hatred and create a disturbance to public peace and tranquility”, she relentlessly carries forward with her agenda of flaring up communal propaganda on her twitter account.  

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