“Street anarchy cannot hijack democracy”: Pradeep Bhandari targets Rahul Gandhi over AI video allegedly used to 'malign' Delhi Police

Bhandari's remarks came after Delhi Police arrested a man for allegedly creating and circulating an AI-generated video that purportedly showed a person in police uniform misbehaving with a woman during a protest in the national capital.

BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari on Tuesday accused Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and the Congress ecosystem of amplifying an alleged fake AI-generated video to "malign" the Delhi Police, asserting that "street anarchy cannot hijack democracy." Bhandari's remarks came after Delhi Police arrested a man for allegedly creating and circulating an AI-generated video that purportedly showed a person in police uniform misbehaving with a woman during a protest in the national capital.

Addressing a press conference, Bhandari alleged that Rahul Gandhi and several Congress-linked handles amplified the video before its authenticity could be established, and subsequently remained silent after the Delhi Police claimed it was fabricated. Bhandari said, "Rahul Gandhi made a post alleging that the Delhi Police, or an officer of the Delhi Police, attempted to sexually harass a woman journalist. The Delhi Police held a press conference, which you all saw, where facts were presented proving that the circulated video was entirely fake. An independent content creator named Nadeem Ahmed - whose photograph you must have seen- generated a fake AI video. Based on that video, the entire Congress ecosystem - Congress Seva Dal, Priyanka Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, and their networks - attempted to spread a false narrative in support of street anarchy. They attempted to spread a fake narrative. That lie was exposed today."

According to Delhi Police, the video began circulating on social media on October 3 and was portrayed as CCTV footage from the protest site. Police said they subsequently identified Nadeem Ahmed, a resident of Palwal, Haryana, as the person allegedly operating the channel from which the footage was circulated. Delhi Police said Ahmed claimed during questioning that he was an independent journalist and had studied up to Class 10. Police further alleged that he used AI tools to create such videos and that he wanted to tarnish the image of the police and create hatred among protesters towards police personnel.

He alleged that the incident demonstrated a pattern of circulating unverified material to target government institutions. "Regarding this lie, Rahul Gandhi has remained completely silent. This has become an established pattern. If you look closely at how the Congress ecosystem operates, their ultimate objective is to trigger anarchy within the nation's democracy through false narratives," Bhandari said.

Bhandari alleged that the video was deliberately amplified before the investigation into its authenticity could be completed. "On October 3, a fraudulent AI video was generated by an independent content creator named Nadeem Ahmed. For the next 24 hours, the Congress ecosystem amplified it across various handles. Rahul Gandhi even wrote that a journalist had been mistreated. Through a concerted and conscious effort, they attempted to villainise the Delhi Police and the State," he said.

The BJP spokesperson said the alleged amplification of the video followed what he described as a "playbook" of creating a false narrative and then using political and social media networks to give it credibility. "If there were actual facts, it would be understandable, but this was exposed as a complete lie. The first step of this ecosystem's playbook is: generate a fake video or narrative through an independent content creator, amplify it for 24 hours across multiple handles, and try to establish a false atmosphere before an investigation can conclude," Bhandari said.

"To legitimise this ecosystem, Rahul Gandhi quotes such content creators and presents it as truth," he added. Bhandari questioned Rahul Gandhi over his social media post and demanded an explanation from the Congress leadership.

"When the AI-generated video was proven fake, why haven’t you deleted your tweet yet? Did the Congress IT Cell commission or direct the creation of this fake video? Isn't this an injustice to legitimate journalists working hard on the ground? Are you intentionally hiring paid actors and creators to infiltrate protests and malign the Fourth Pillar of democracy? Isn't this a calculated pattern to strike at the country's constitutional setup?" he asked. He further alleged that the Congress ecosystem was attempting to undermine the credibility of constitutional institutions.

"Is the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi's entire ecosystem not attempting to delegitimise the Indian State's moral fabric? Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party are working in a very conscious and concerted effort, where their entire ecosystem is funding independent content creators - who are not journalists. These independent content creators have been tasked by the Congress party and the Congress ecosystem, Rahul Gandhi in particular, to make fake videos, and through these fake videos, they are attempting to delegitimise the Indian constitutional fabric," Bhandari said. "Today, it is the police uniform they attempt to delegitimise; tomorrow, they will attempt to delegitimise the Supreme Court, and the next day, another constitutional body. Anyone who believes in democracy and respects the Constitution must question Rahul Gandhi. When your lies are continually caught - as in the case of Nadeem Ahmed - why do you never retract them?" he added.

The controversy erupted during protests in Delhi by AISA and other groups against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Several protesters attempted to breach police barricades near Jantar Mantar and were detained after police said they failed to comply with directions to vacate the site. Following the detentions, three women identifying themselves as journalists filed complaints alleging that police personnel had manhandled and sexually harassed them during the law-and-order situation on October 3.

Rahul Gandhi has separately intensified his attack on the Centre and the Election Commission over the SIR exercise. On Tuesday, Opposition MPs marched towards Nirvachan Sadan, demanding to meet the Election Commissioners and raising questions over the electoral roll revision process. Bhandari, however, accused the Congress of attempting to build its political campaign around false narratives.

"Rahul Gandhi is attempting to come to power on the bedrock of false narratives. To him, the youth of this country say: 'Your lies are done, bro. You are done, bro,'" he said. He further demanded answers from Rahul Gandhi and the Congress over the alleged AI-generated video.

"Did Rahul Gandhi’s ecosystem pay these creators to manufacture fake videos? Following the FIR revealing a wider intent to incite riots and unrest, does this not prove an intent to spread anarchy? Why haven’t Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Vadra deleted their posts yet?" Bhandari asked. "The buck stops with Rahul Gandhi. Indian democracy remains strong, and the biggest challenge to it today is the false narratives peddled by the Gandhi-Vadra family. Street anarchy cannot hijack democracy. The people of this country have repeatedly shown their faith in legitimate democratic processes and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi must first answer why he peddled this fabricated lie," he said.

"Matters pending before the Supreme Court will be decided by the Supreme Court, not on the streets. Congress's entire strategy is: tell a lie, hire people to spread it, amplify it through IT cells, have Rahul Gandhi quote-tweet it, and when caught red-handed, maintain silence and shift the goalposts," Bhandari added. (ANI)