The BJP MLA highlighted the activities of certain communal groups who were actively sharing offensive content to offend people's sentiments.
Bharat Shetty handing over memorandum to commissioner Kuldeep Kumar R Jain
Mangaluru North MLA Y Bharath Shetty urged the city police commissioner on Sunday, 2 July, to take strict action against inflammatory social media posts that target the religious sentiments of Hindus.
In a memorandum submitted to Commissioner Kuldeep Kumar R Jain, the BJP lawmaker highlighted the activities of certain communal groups in the region who he said were actively sharing offensive content about Hindu deities and manipulative posts to deliberately offend people’s sentiments.
The MLA termed these actions a deliberate conspiracy to disturb the peaceful coexistence and harmony within society.
Shetty said those behind the Facebook pages posting deplorable comments on Hindus should be brought to book and stringent action be taken against them.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has already said the state government was ready to take all measures required to curb “fake news” — including the use of technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) — and taking such cases to their “logical end”.
He said the government was ready to bring in necessary laws in case there is no provision to punish those involved in such cases under existing legislation.
“Some people are involved in spreading fake news, whether it is on political issues or those aimed at disturbing the peace in the society. We have observed that fake news is posted on various platforms and social media. Photographs are morphed, aimed at projecting it to be linked to some sensitive issue, to which the photo is actually unrelated,” Parameshwara said.
He had also said that discussions are underway regarding setting up a cyber security wing at every police station to address the issues at the jurisdiction level itself and to bring down the number of such cases.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has recently issued strict instructions to the authorities in the state to crack down on fake news.
Siddaramaiah had an elaborate discussion in this regard with Parameshwara on 20 June. The chief minister noted that, back in 2013, when the Congress came to power, the menace of fake news had increased.
He said that the party’s political opponents were adopting the same strategy this time around.
A day after the chief minister spoke about the fake news issue, the state’s Information Technology (IT) and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge in a tweet said, “The BJP IT Cell and their functionaries may have the blessings of their supreme leaders to spread hatred, but we have the blessings of the Constitution and the people to stop them.”
Earlier, a technical team was set up in the Bengaluru City Police Commissionerate and Police Headquarters to detect fake news, fact-check, warn, and create awareness among the public.
However, the BJP government stopped fact-checking when it came to power, Siddaramaiah stated on 20 June.
(With PTI inputs)
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