BJP IT cell accused of sharing edited image to link London protest to Pakistan

The BJP’s Delhi IT cell has been accused of sharing an altered image of an Indian Muslim man to claim that Pakistanis were supporting anti-Election Commission protests in London alongside influencer Dhruv Rathee, The Siasat Daily reported.

An image of Saddam Hussein, a native of Gujarat who lives in the United Kingdom, was circulated on social media showing him holding a Pakistani flag. Hussein said the image was edited from a five-year-old photograph in which he was holding an iPhone.

The Delhi BJP shared the image on Instagram along with other AI-generated pictures. The caption alleged that Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal had gathered people to “defame India” in London and asked viewers to see who had come out in support.

Hussein posted a video clarifying that he is an Indian citizen. He said he had recorded and shared a video after seeing protesters surrounding Dhruv Rathee at the demonstration, and that the clip later went viral.

Following its spread, he alleged that the Delhi BJP IT cell account edited his old photograph, replaced the phone in his hand with a Pakistani flag and falsely portrayed him as Pakistani.

“This is how these people defamed me and falsely claimed I am a Pakistani,” he said.

Dhruv Rathee responded to the claims in a reply to content creators Abhi and Niyu, who had shared the edited images. He accused them of spreading fake news and asked whether they had received directions from the BJP to defame Indian citizens.

The controversy relates to a demonstration held outside the Mahatma Gandhi statue in London’s Parliament Square on October 17, which Dhruv Rathee attended.

The protest took place amid nationwide agitations against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which reportedly led to large-scale deletion of voter names.