RSS, BJP using social media to spread lies: Chavan

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is spreading lies and rumours through the social media and Congress workers should wake up to its thread and respond to it.

Speaking at a function in Pune, Chavan said, “The BJP and RSS are creating a rosy picture before us effectively using the social media. But we must understand that it is all lies and the states where they are in power are not that much developed as it is being portrayed.”

Citing instances where morphed video clips and pictures were spread through the internet for political gains, Chavan said that the same method was evident during last year’s disturbance in Mumbai.

“Some people spread the purported clips in Myanmar which culminated in incidents at the Hutatma Chowk in Mumbai last August. Had those clips were investigated on time, what followed it could have been averted. The same pattern was evident in the riots that place at Miraj (in south Maharashtra) and everybody knows what followed,” he said.

 “If you see the history of BJP’s political victories, you will find that they that they have followed the politics of religious hatred and insecurity,” he sought to point out.

Maharashtra State Congress chief Manikrao Thakare also hit out against the BJP and its use of social media. He appealed to the Congress workers to use tools like Facebook and Twitter to counter their 'lies'.