Modi voices foreign power conspiracy in Lok Sabha elections
Image credit X @bjp4india
Elon Musk India visit postponement sees spotlight on foreign power meddling in poll
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, April 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that big powers within and outside country have joined hands to oust him from power. His comments came on a day when billionaire Elon Musk sprung a surprise to postpone his India visit.
Addressing a rally in Chikkaballapura in Karnataka, Modi said: “These days big people within the country and abroad have united to remove Modi.” He exuded confidence that his bouquet of welfare measures will steady him in the Lok Sabha elections.
Five days ago, Shashi Shekhar Vempati, a saffron commentator, gave prominence to the foreign conspiracy theory in an opinion piece in a leading daily. Vempati is former chief of Prasar Bharti, India’s national broadcaster.
“There are serious concerns about how deepfake tech could be weaponized,” noted Vempati. He feared that “malicious foreign actors (may) vitiate elections”. He is a startup founder with an IIT pedigree.
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The prime minister at a ‘Diwali Milan’ function at the headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had given prominence to growing risks of deepfakes. Afterwards, the social media has seen an avalanche of meme harvest on political actors to heat up the Lok Sabha elections.
Vempati sought the interventions of the Election Commission against “flawed commentary on India across foreign media outlets”. He prescribed “fact-checking and clampdown on errant platforms and media outlets.
The likes of The Guardian, The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and others went on an overdrive in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to turn heat on Modi.
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“It is sad that the Establishment in certain Western countries is promoting this anti-PM Modi propaganda,” commented former diplomat Yogesh Gupta on Linkedin. He argued that it amounted to “interfering in India’s internal affairs”. Gupta asserted that “these people have no understanding of India’s politics and is only axing their own foot”.
However, the opinion pieces in the foreign media outlets have mostly been penned by known Indian media names. Yet, they have also come out with leading Editorials to slam Modi for arrests of the Opposition leaders, and also for stoking far-right Hindutva politics.
“The West unfortunately cannot stand a strong leader in any important developing country. But the people of India are solidly behind PM Modi. He would win again and these people would have egg on their face,” added Gupta.
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The prime minister’s comment on role of foreign power in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections came on the day of Musk deferring his India visit. Musk claimed he had heavy Tesla commitments.
But it’s being suggested in some quarters that Musk put his India visit on hold to avoid becoming an electioneering tool of the BJP. Earlier, the prime minister’s interview by billionaire Bill Gates was richly showcased to spotlight the global leadership image of Modi.
Yet, China had visibly been livid at Musk for planning the India visit. Musk was feted by Chinese President Xi Jinping when flew to Beijing at the peak of China-US tension. The Chinese communist party publications in their commentaries advised Musk to not commit mistake of looking India as an alternative of China.
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