BJP mocks Congress for using AI images of rally

Following an opposition rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, November 1, Rijiju took to social media platform X to share a post originally published by Congress MP Vamsi Gadda and other party leaders, which featured a digitally manipulated image depicting a massive turnout.

"The Congress fake-narrative factory even used AI to show the Ramlila Maidan packed, but couldn't even make it properly," Rijiju wrote. Former MP and Congress Working Committee member Jagdish Thakor also shared the image, which featured digitally rendered likenesses of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi on a stage that differed significantly from the actual venue setup. X users subsequently flagged the image as AI-generated.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dismissed the gathering as a failure from the outset, circulating photos and videos showing empty chairs at the venue and asserting that at least 40 percent of Ramlila Maidan remained vacant.

Ahead of the protest, Congress had projected a turnout of one million people participating in the demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Addressing a press conference on Sunday evening, BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra remarked, "Congress claimed 10 million people would gather, but 40 percent of the ground was empty."

Mocking Rahul Gandhi, Patra added that while clever camera angles were deployed to inflate attendance, such tactics "will not make anyone Prime Minister." In response to the criticism, Congress released drone footage and additional photographs, maintaining that hundreds of thousands of citizens participated in the event.

Speaking at the Ramlila Maidan rally, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi branded the 2024 general elections illegitimate, alleging that "vote-theft" occurred due to the actions of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

"This is not ordinary theft; it is the theft of every Indian's voice. This is called treason," Gandhi stated, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah would not have assumed office without Kumar's complicity, and asserting that the election commissioner belongs behind bars.

In counter-rebuttal, Sambit Patra argued that labeling an election illegal from a public stage does not constitute proof, urging the opposition to file formal legal challenges through proper judicial channels rather than late public grievances.

Sunday's demonstration marked the latest installment in ongoing opposition protests demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner over electoral management and voter list revisions.