Campaign video targeting Muslims faces India police probe as critics accuse Modi’s party of divisive election tactics

CNN —

Police in southern India are investigating a senior leader of the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over a campaign video targeting Muslims, as critics accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running an increasingly divisive election.

The police probe comes as the world’s most populous nation votes in a mammoth weeks-long election in which Modi’s Hindu-nationalist ruling party is widely expected to secure a rare third consecutive term.

The party has long denied being anti-Islam but opposition politicians and prominent Muslims have warned that its leaders have been deploying openly divisive rhetoric to turbo-charge their campaign.

According to a police report seen by CNN on Tuesday, Karnataka state police are investigating whether local BJP leader B. Y. Vijayendra and the unnamed holder of the party’s official local X account “promoted enmity” between religious groups after the clip was posted onlineon May 4.

The 17-second animation depicts leaders of India’s main opposition Congress party giving benefits to Muslims, alongside a caption in the local Kannada language: “Beware… Beware… Beware…!”

It shows caricatures of Congress’s national leader Rahul Gandhi and its Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah feeding “funds” to a large bird wearing a Muslim skullcap, while giving nothing to three smaller birds portraying other marginalized minorities. The large bird then kicks the other birds out of their nest as the Congress politicians laugh.

A large portrait of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is displayed behind him as he speaks at an election campaign rally in Meerut, India, Sunday, March 31, 2024.

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