File picture of BJP leader Amit Malviya
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Indian Youth Congress, headed by Uday Bhanu Chib, registered a first information report (FIR) at a police station in Bengaluru against BJP leader Amit Malviya and Republic Network’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami for allegedly defaming the constitutional office of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and “spreading fake news”.

The FIR has been registered under Sections 192 and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

As per the FIR, Republic Network carried a news report that “falsely” projected the Istanbul Congress Centre at Turkiye as an office of the Indian National Congress. Mr. Malviya had shared the report on his social media platform X.

“This malicious attempt to malign @INC, provoke unrest, and undermine national security is a direct attack on democracy. We will not stay silent. Let this be a clear message: Any attempt to spread fake news against our party or its leadership will be met with firm legal and political response,” a social media post of the IYC cell said.

Sharing the Republic news report on his X handle again, Mr. Malviya posted, “The FIR is for this video. Imagine”.