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Indian opposition's social media head arrested over doctored video

Amit Shah, India's powerful interior minister and former BJP national president. (File photo by AFP)

Indian police have announced the arrest of the social media chief of India's main opposition Congress party after accusation of misleadingly altering a widely shared video amid ongoing national elections.

Arun Reddy was taken into custody for his alleged role in altering a video that shows India's powerful interior minister Amit Shah pledging to eliminate affirmative action initiatives for millions of underprivileged and lower-caste Indians.

Shah is commonly referred to as the second-most powerful person in India, just behind incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The close political partnership of the duo has spanned several decades.

The arrest comes amid ongoing Lok Sabha elections (lower house of the parliament), and amid the Modi-led center government’s crackdown against opposition parties and media.

Congress leader Manickam Tagore on Friday said it had been over 24 hours that Delhi Police had detained Reddy without disclosing any information.

"We demand the immediate release of Arun. This authoritarian misuse of power by the regime is condemnable," Tagore wrote.

Modi has brought multiple criminal charges against his political adversaries and initiated a tax inquiry that resulted in the freezing of the opposition party's financial assets.

His nationalist government has prioritized the Hindu faith in its political agenda, causing concerns among the country's 220 million Muslims who say they are being marginalized.


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