BJP candidate from Barabanki Upendra Singh Rawat withdraws after 'obscene video' goes viral

Barabanki (UP): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Barabanki Upendra Singh Rawat withdrew his candidature and announced that he would not contest any election until he is proven innocent after his alleged obscene video went viral on social media.

Taking to X, Rawat wrote, "An edited video of mine that is generated by DeepFake AI technology is being made viral, for which I have lodged an FIR. In this regard, I have requested that the National President get it probed. I will not contest any election in public life until I am proven innocent."

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मेरा एक एडिटेड वीडियो वायरल किया जा रहा है जो DeepFake AI तकनीक द्वारा जेनरेटेड है, जिसकी FIR मैंने दर्ज करा दी है,इसके संदर्भ में मैंने मा॰ राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष जी से निवेदन किया है कि इसकी जाँच करवायी जाये। जबतक मैं निर्दोष साबित नहीं होता सार्वजनिक जीवन में कोई चुनाव नहीं लड़ूँगा

— Upendra Singh Rawat (@upendrasinghMP) March 4, 2024 >

In a statement, Rawat said that his edited video was being made viral by his political opponents. "This has been done to malign my image. These are the people who have been completely isolated in politics. They could not tolerate me getting the ticket for the second time; therefore, this edited video has been made viral," he said.

He claimed that the video was prepared using the DeepFake AI technique. "My face has been pasted in an old video of some person. I have lodged an FIR in this regard, and the matter is being investigated. Action will surely be taken against those who have done this heinous act," he said.

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pic.twitter.com/ydav8SRmrp

— Upendra Singh Rawat (@upendrasinghMP) March 4, 2024 >

The MP said that he has inquired with the police and has been informed that the investigation is going in the right direction and they will be nabbed soon.

It may be noted that an alleged obscene video of Rawat went viral after his candidature was announced by the BJP in its first list. After the video went viral, Rawat's personal secretary, Dinesh Rawat, lodged a case at Kotwali police station on Sunday.