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Popular nationwide daily newspaper Indian Express is once again underfire across social media platforms after carrying a front page ad sponsored by UP government that promotes Islamophobia.

The ad claims that there are no more riots in the state ever since BJP government came to power. The ad shows a purported Muslim man, wearing Surma (Kohl) around his eyes and with bears, as a rioter who has learnt his lesson under BJP government.

Frequent contributors to the daily condemned the newspaper for carrying the advertisement. Professor Apoorvanand of the Delhi University, who is a frequent columnist for the newspaper said that he is shocked by the ‘open islamophobic propaganda’. He announced disassociation with the paper as a ‘writer’ and ‘buyer’.

“Shocked to see this open Islamophobic propaganda. Know the editors are secular but cannot rationalise it. In my small way, I register my protest by disassociating with it as a writer and buyer. Sad as I valued my association with it but there is something more sacred at stake,” he said in a tweet.

Economist Jayathi Ghosh, a regular contributor at the Express also announced dissociation with the paper and said the daily is promoting hatred by carrying the UP govt’s ad on its front page.

”Definitely time to dissociate from @IndianExpress – a paper that brazenly promotes hatred in a half-page spread on its front page. No excuses for this. ,” she said.

Salil Tripathi, another contributor at the Express called the ad ‘tasteless’ and said that it reminded him of real images from the Gujarat riots of 2002.

The Indian Express was slammed by users earlier as well when it carried an ad by the UP government in which a flyover from Bengal was depicted as one that was built in Uttar Pradesh. The newspaper had apologized for the goof up.

Several Twitter users expressed their anguish over Indian Express publishing the front page ad and said the newspaper has lost its credibility. Several also announced that they will no longer buy and read newspaper as a mark of their protest against such promotion of hatred by the paper.

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New Delhi(PTI): The Congress on Wednesday stepped up its campaign against alleged 'vote chori' by releasing a new video depicting how fake votes were being cast and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge asking people to raise their voice and save constitutional institutions from the "clutches of the BJP".

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi also shared the minute-long video and said, "Aapke vote ki chori aapke adhikar ki chori, aapki pehchaan ki chori hai."

Tagging the advertisement titled 'booth par vote chori", Congress president Kharge said, "Do not let your rights to vote be snatched away. Ask questions, demand answers this time! Raise your voice against vote chori."

"Free constitutional institutions from the clutches of the BJP," he said in his message to the people on X.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also shared the video on X, and said, "the theft of your vote is theft of your rights, theft of your identity."

"Save your right to vote, Raise your voice against vote theft," she said.

The video made by the Congress depicts a family entering a polling booth with two people telling them that their votes have already been cast by them and it ends with the two persons casting fake votes showing a thumbs up to an officer sitting at the table with 'election chori aayog' display plate on his table.

The Congress on Tuesday had claimed that "vote chori" was a "do-or-die" issue for it, and announced a roadmap to take its allegations to the people through various activities, including taking out 'Loktantra bachao mashaal marches' on August 14 evening.

The opposition party also claimed that as more "evidence" of "vote chori" was coming to the fore, it seemed that it was not mere theft but "dacoity".

The assertion was made after Kharge held a meeting with party general secretaries, in-charges and heads of its frontal organisations.

The meeting was attended by the likes of former party chief Rahul Gandhi and general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, K C Venugopal, Sachin Pilot, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, as well as treasurer Ajay Maken.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Congress leader and AICC in-charge of National Students' Union of India (NSUI) Kanhaiya Kumar had said a "big issue" of "vote chori" has come to the fore.

"Rahul Gandhi ji has put forward the truth with evidence on how democracy is being throttled," he had said.

Kumar had said that going forward, the Congress will take this to the people with three important programmes.

On August 14, the eve of Independence Day, there will be a 'Loktantra bachao mashaal march' at all district headquarters, Kumar said, adding that between August 22 and September 7, the Congress will hold "vote chor, gaddi chhorh (vote thieves, relinquish power)" rallies in all state headquarters.

"Between September 15 and October 15, a signature campaign will be run to save the right to vote and ensure people's participation," he had said, while asserting that the whole INDIA bloc is together on this.

The Congress has also launched a web portal for people to register and demand accountability from the poll panel against what it called "vote chori", and express support for the demand for digital voter rolls.

Gandhi had urged people to support this demand by registering on votechori.in/ecdemand.

Anyone can click on the portal link and download "vote chori proof, demand EC accountability and report vote chori".

It also carries Gandhi's video in which he reiterated his explosive claims of a "huge criminal fraud" in the polls through "collusion" between the BJP and the EC.

He had cited an analysis in a constituency in Karnataka to support his claim, and said it was "a crime against the Constitution".

On Monday, opposition MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, Kharge and Pawar, took out a protest march from the Parliament House to the Election Commission office against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and alleged "vote chori", but were stopped midway by the police and briefly detained amid high drama.

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