Karnataka BJP targets Priyank Kharge for sharing ''AI-generated image'', demands apology
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP has hit out at IT Minister Priyank Kharge, accusing him of spreading fake news by circulating a "malicious AI-generated image" to attack the prime minister and mislead the public about a court order.
They also accused Kharge of mocking the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' initiative and demanded an unconditional apology from him.
Kharge has since deleted the post with the image in question, which referred to the 2017 Unnao rape case.
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He said that while the image in the post may have been AI-generated and was shared due to an inadvertent oversight, "your reputation precedes you, @BJP4Karnataka".
The Delhi High Court recently suspended the jail term of expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is serving life imprisonment in the Unnao rape case, saying he has already served seven years and five months in prison.
The Karnataka BJP claimed that the self-proclaimed "fact-checker" Priyank Kharge was caught spreading fake news.
"Despite holding the IT & BT portfolio, he circulated a malicious, AI-generated image to attack PM @narendramodi and mislead the public about a court order," it said.
"He shamefully mocked the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' initiative -- a crucial scheme for empowering India’s daughters -- using lies to twist its meaning for cheap politics," the BJP alleged.
Accusing Kharge of ignoring facts, the BJP further hit out at him, saying the relief was a court order, which the CBI is challenging, and not a government decision.
"His (Kharge) post violates his own government's Hate Speech Bill by using communal imagery to ridicule a judicial process. Instead of upholding the truth, Priyank Kharge resorts to lies and communal incitement. We demand an unconditional apology and immediate legal action against this misinformation," a post by the state BJP on Friday said.
Reacting to the post, Kharge slammed the party, accusing it of continuing to honour and shield perpetrators.
"The larger issue remains: the BJP continues to honour and shield perpetrators. Why has no action been taken against the POCSO accused in Karnataka? And why is this leader still projected as a mentor and a 'guiding light’ for your party? Would you like me to fact-check it for you?” he added.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
