EC Orders Probe Against Maharashtra CEO for Hiring BJP Activist to Handle Its Social Media
Mumbai: On July 23, activist and former journalist Saket Gokhale took to social media to allege that the Maharashtra chief electoral officer (CEO) had hired an advertising company that allegedly had a direct link with the BJP. This news story was published on 24th July by Thewire.in and has been shared here without any changes and alterations. CLICK HERE to read the original post.
The company called Signpost India, Gokhale claimed, belonged to Devang Dave who is the national convener of IT & social media for BJP’s youth wing.
The post generated enough stir on social media and the Election Commission of India soon ordered for an inquiry into the Maharashtra CEO’s selection of Dave’s company. “Regarding tweet of Mr Gokhale @SaketGokhale, the commission has sought a detailed factual report in this matter from CEO Maharashtra with respect to the alleged locale of the incidence immediately,” the ECI spokesperson, Sheyphali Sharan, wrote on Twitter.
. @SpokespersonECI must explain as how can the constitutional body be usurped by the ruling party in the Centre. @ECISVEEP
— Eminence Grise ? (@bl_khatri) July 23, 2020
This is a case of regulatory capturing.@CMOMaharashtra @OfficeofUT must take immediate cognisance of this matter. https://t.co/DTYTbpv2j2
In a series of tweets, Gokhale had sought to show the direct link between Dave, BJP and the Maharashtra election office. According to the screengrabs posted, Dave had been closely involved in disseminating information about the 2019 state election.
Dave’s company had been hired to handle the Election Commission’s Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP). During the election, Signpost India was responsible for raising awareness about the election on the state election office’s social media pages, and through newspapers and hoardings to promote a healthy attitude among the electorate.
This raises concerns since Dave has a direct link with the BJP and is in fact an office-bearer of the party’s youth wing. Dave is also the national convener of the information technology (IT) and handles the social media cell of the BJP’s youth wing.
There's no force that can stop a journey which has started and when one is determined to go greater good for humanity
— Devang Dave (@DevangVDave) July 21, 2020
Wishing @Dev_Fadnavis ji a very happy birthday along with successful year ahead
We look forward to see you as CM of Maharashtra again very soon pic.twitter.com/ft4nVmABza
The state CEO has, however, claimed that during election, dissemination work is outsourced to a third-party company. “Whether or not the company is empaneled with the government is not such a big concern,” the official said.
But when asked if Dave’s direct association with the then ruling party was not concerning for the CEO, the official claimed that the work was “non-political” in nature. The official also added that several celebrities are roped in during elections and they may or may not have publicly associated with a political party.
Gokhale has meticulously looked at Dave’s company website, and pro-BJP websites like “The Fearless Indian” and the “I Support Narendra Modi” page and identified the identical agency address associated with each of them. He linked each of his tweets with Dave’s Facebook pages. The social media site makes it compulsory for political advertisers to disclose their identities, including the agency’s local address. That way, Gokhale was able to draw direct connections.
Dave was contacted for his comment on the allegation but he did not respond.
“The address 202 Pressman House was also used by a digital agency called “Social Central”. This agency is owned by Devang Dave who is the national convener of IT & social media for BJP’s Youth Wing @BJYM. Guess who shows up on his client list on his website,” Gokhale asked on Twitter.
I decided to check who the address belongs to. It's that of an advertising company called Signpost India which was a govt-empaneled agency under Fadnavis BJP govt.
— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) July 23, 2020
But wait - that's not half the story
(2/6)
The Congress party has sought for an independent probe into the election and has accused the state election commission of “conflict of interest” by hiring a firm with direct links with a political party. The party’s spokesperson Sachin Sawant said the links have raised questions about how independent the Election Commission is. “An independent probe needs to be done into the matter immediately,” he said.
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Uttarakhand Assembly passes censure motion against opposition over women's reservation bill
Dehradun (PTI): The Uttarakhand Assembly passed a censure motion against the Congress and other opposition parties on Tuesday for allegedly blocking the passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, in Parliament.
The motion, which expressed the House's formal disapproval of the opposition's conduct, triggered a massive uproar by Congress members, leading to the adjournment of the House sine die.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Subodh Uniyal moved the censure motion, citing the "uncooperative attitude" of opposition parties toward the bill seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies.
Addressing a special daylong session convened specifically to discuss "Nari Samman -- Rights in Democracy", Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the bill's passage would have benefitted every political party.
Dhami noted that after delimitation, the number of Assembly seats in the hill state would have gone up to 105, with 35 reserved for women. He added that the number of Lok Sabha seats from Uttarakhand would have risen from five to seven or eight.
"The opposition fears that if women from ordinary households enter politics, the shops of dynastic politics run by certain parties will shut down," the chief minister claimed.
He compared the opposition's conduct in Parliament to the assembly in Mahabharat where Draupadi was insulted. Dhami further likened the opposition's behaviour to the "arrogance of Ravan".
The chief minister highlighted his government's initiatives, asserting that Uttarakhand was the first state to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to protect women's rights. He said the UCC freed Muslim women from practices like "halala", "iddat", polygamy and child marriage.
Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya questioned the technical feasibility of the bill, calling the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) claims of providing reservation by 2029 "misleading".
He argued that the bill is linked to census and delimitation processes. The Congress leader said the 2026 census would conclude by 2027 and the final data publication would take two more years.
"The delimitation process will take another six years. The actual implementation of this bill is not possible before 2034," Arya said, describing the move as a strategy to protect the BJP's "political ground".
The session also saw high drama outside the Assembly gates, where Congress MLA Virendra Jati staged a protest, demanding the payment of "outstanding" dues to farmers by sugar mills.
Jati arrived at the Assembly's main gate with a tractor-trolley loaded with sugarcane and dumped it on the road. The move brought the traffic to a halt, prompting traffic and security personnel to intervene and clear the area.
Women Congress workers also staged a demonstration against the "anti-people policies" of the state government.
