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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Congress’ solo path for ‘ideological survival’

Mumbai: The Congress party’s decision to contest the forthcoming BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently is being viewed as an attempt to reclaim its ideological space among the public and restore credibility within its cadre, senior leaders indicated. The announcement - made by AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala alongside state president Harshwardhan Sapkal and Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad - did not trigger a backlash from the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi...

Congress’ solo path for ‘ideological survival’

Mumbai: The Congress party’s decision to contest the forthcoming BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently is being viewed as an attempt to reclaim its ideological space among the public and restore credibility within its cadre, senior leaders indicated. The announcement - made by AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala alongside state president Harshwardhan Sapkal and Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad - did not trigger a backlash from the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners, the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT). According to Congress insiders, the move is the outcome of more than a year of intense internal consultations following the party’ dismal performance in the 2024 Assembly elections, belying huge expectations. A broad consensus reportedly emerged that the party should chart a “lone-wolf” course to safeguard the core ideals of Congress, turning140-years-old, next month. State and Mumbai-level Congress leaders, speaking off the record, said that although the party gained momentum in the 2019 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it was frequently constrained by alliance compulsions. Several MVA partners, they claimed, remained unyielding on larger ideological and political issues. “The Congress had to compromise repeatedly and soften its position, but endured it as part of ‘alliance dharma’. Others did not reciprocate in the same spirit. They made unilateral announcements and declared candidates or policies without consensus,” a senior state leader remarked. Avoid liabilities He added that some alliance-backed candidates later proved to be liabilities. Many either lost narrowly or, even after winning with the support of Congress workers, defected to Mahayuti constituents - the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, or the Nationalist Congress Party. “More than five dozen such desertions have taken place so far, which is unethical, backstabbing the voters and a waste of all our efforts,” he rued. A Mumbai office-bearer elaborated that in certain constituencies, Congress workers effectively propelled weak allied candidates through the campaign. “Our assessment is that post-split, some partners have alienated their grassroots base, especially in the mofussil regions. They increasingly rely on Congress workers. This is causing disillusionment among our cadre, who see deserving leaders being sidelined and organisational growth stagnating,” he said. Chennithala’s declaration on Saturday was unambiguous: “We will contest all 227 seats independently in the BMC polls. This is the demand of our leaders and workers - to go alone in the civic elections.” Gaikwad added that the Congress is a “cultured and respectable party” that cannot ally with just anyone—a subtle reference to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which had earlier targeted North Indians and other communities and is now bidding for an electoral arrangement with the SS(UBT). Both state and city leaders reiterated that barring the BMC elections - where the Congress will take the ‘ekla chalo’ route - the MVA alliance remains intact. This is despite the sharp criticism recently levelled at the Congress by senior SS(UBT) leader Ambadas Danve following the Bihar results. “We are confident that secular-minded voters will support the Congress' fight against the BJP-RSS in local body elections. We welcome backing from like-minded parties and hope to finalize understandings with some soon,” a state functionary hinted. Meanwhile, Chennithala’s firm stance has triggered speculation in political circles about whether the Congress’ informal ‘black-sheep' policy vis-a-vis certain parties will extend beyond the BMC polls.

Deepfakes: The Age of Digital Deception

If left unchecked, deepfakes pose a direct threat to public trust—the social foundation for media, institutions, and law.

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In today’s world, where social media clips can go viral within seconds, a troubling question arises: What happens when the video you are watching is not genuine, yet appears completely convincing? Deepfakes represent one of the most advanced applications of artificial intelligence. They rely on sophisticated models such as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and newer diffusion techniques, harnessing powerful tools that are capable of producing astonishingly realistic videos, images, or even audio recordings. These creations can make it seem as though a person said or did something that never actually happened, blurring the line between reality and fabrication.


While the technology feels new, its roots stretch back more than two decades. In 1997, researchers developed a system called Video Rewrite that could synchronise lip movements with different audio tracks. In 2016, a project called Face2Face took things further by allowing real-time manipulation of facial expressions. A year later, Synthesising Obama stunned viewers by generating a convincing video of the former U.S. President saying scripted lines he never spoke. But it was in the 2020s that deepfakes became truly mainstream, powered by easy-to-use software and open-source AI models.


Several high-profile deepfake cases have recently emerged in India. One of the discussed cases in India is that of BJP leader Manoj Tiwari, who in 2020 had a deepfake created to clone his voice and facial expressions. Another case was in May 2024; a young man named Yash Bhavsar was arrested in Madhya Pradesh for creating inappropriate content images of women using deepfake technology. Two months later, in July 2025, Assam's Pratim Bora was caught using AI to generate explicit images of an ex-classmate, which he sold online through a subscription model. In July 2024, the Bombay High Court delivered a landmark ruling in Arijit Singh vs Codible Ventures, ordering an interim injunction against unauthorised voice cloning using AI. Another case is Ankur Warikoo v. John Doe (Deepfake Identity Misuse), Delhi High Court (May 2025). These are two genuine High Court judgements in India related to deepfake misuse, where courts granted injunctions recognising the threat posed by AI-generated fake content, especially relating to the misuse of personality rights:


However, as of now, the Honourable Supreme Court hasn’t yet passed a landmark judgment specifically on deepfake content. Nevertheless, the legal framework for digital evidence requires strict authentication for all electronic content.


In response to these challenges, both the legal system and the technology sector are moving quickly. One major area of focus has been developing ways to detect and block deepfakes. Zero Defend Security, a company of Bengaluru, launched Vastav.AI, a cloud-based platform that helps analyse and detect deepfakes with up to 99% accuracy. Another breakthrough came with FaceShield, a tool that protects images from being used in deepfake generation. Indian institutions like IISc Bengaluru and IIIT Hyderabad are working on tools that can detect subtle signs of fakery, such as unnatural eye blinks, mismatched lighting, or inconsistencies in speech rhythm. Globally, tech giants like Meta and Google are also building AI to detect AI, creating what’s called “deepfake detectors”.


Yet even with national efforts, the threat is global in scale. International bodies like INTERPOL, the UN’s ITU, and UNODC are now pushing for global standards in watermarking and AI verification, warning that deepfakes are already being linked to child exploitation, online defamation, and election interference. There is an INTERPOL “Beyond Illusions” (2024) report that stresses deepfake threats. Experts like Dr Danielle Citron, Dr Robert Chesney, and Dr Hao Li have all raised red flags about how deepfakes could erode public trust. Prof. Ponnurangam Kumaraguru, at IIT-Hyderabad (Department of AI), is known for projects on deepfake detection and misinformation, especially in Indian contexts. Another renowned scientist is Dr Sumeet Agarwal (IIT Delhi). Works in deep learning, adversarial attacks, and generative AI.


In conclusion, deepfakes are blurring the silver line between truth and fiction at an alarming pace. The results can be almost indistinguishable from reality, and the consequences are starting to show up in real lives, real crimes, and real courtrooms.


(Dr. Kumar is a retired IPS officer and forensic advisor to the Assam government and Shiwani Phukan is a student of National Forensic University, Guwahati. Views personal.)

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