Take down BJP posters with IAF pilot Abhinandan's photo: Election Commission to Facebook
New Delhi: With the model code of conduct (MCC) in place for the Lok Sabha polls starting April 11, the Election Commission on Tuesday directed Facebook to take down two political posters with the picture of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman shared by BJP leader and Delhi MLA Om Prakash Sharma.
The posters – also carrying photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and Sharma – were shared on Facebook on March 1, Indian Express reported.
The action is likely the first such instance of a social media platform being pulled up for an MCC violation and has come soon after political parties were advised against using images of defence personnel in their campaigns.
While the MCC provisions have been applicable to social media since 2013, the EC has till now been unable to act against violations due to the lack of a mechanism to reach out to social media sites.
According to the English daily, after receiving a complaint about the posters on its cVIGIL app, the electoral body flagged the issue to Shivnath Thukral, Facebook’s director of public policy for India and South Asia.
The app is meant to enable voters and citizens to flag “malpractices”. Chief election commissioner Sunil Arora said cVIGIL allows citizens to post photos or video clips up to two minutes long. Once the submission is made, the user can track the complaint and follow it up. The identity of the complainant would be confidential.
While one poster shared by the BJP leader read, “Jhuk gaya hai Pakistan, laut aaya hai desh ka veer Jawan (Pakistan capitulates, the country’s brave heart is back), the other went on to laud the Indian prime minister for the pilot’s return. “Modi ji dwara itne kam samay main bahadur Abhinandan ko wapas lana Bharat ki bahut badi kootnitik vijay hai (Abhinandan’s return, through Modi ji, is a big diplomatic win for India).”
The Wire earlier reported that despite the EC asking parties to not use the armed forces for political advertisements or campaigns, most have been politicising the Indian Air Force’s strike in Balakot and Wing Commander Varthaman.
In most such instances, BJP has been the perpetual defaulter. However, even the Aam Aadmi Party has tried leveraging the Indian pilot’s release and return to the country.
courtesy : thewire.in
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
