‘Telltale signs of election fraud’: Congress says TRAI barred party from sending SMS with documentary link on Maharashtra polls

The party applied to TRAI for permission to send links of a Marathi YouTube documentary titled ‘How the MH 2024 election was stolen’.

By: Express Web Desk

Mumbai | Updated: September 7, 2025 01:51 PM IST

"TRAI rejected the request, calling it protest content," Praveen Chakravarty, the chairman of Congress' data analytics department said.

The Congress on Sunday claimed that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) rejected its application to send SMSes containing the YouTube documentary link titled ‘How the MH 2024 Election Was Stolen’ to its Maharashtra cadre, on the grounds that it constituted “content related to protest.”

Taking to X, Praveen Chakravarty, Chairman of the Congress’ Data Analytics Department, said that the application for approval was filed as per the government process, alleging that its rejection was a sign of guilt regarding electoral fraud in Maharashtra.

“Does one need more telltale signs of guilt of MH election fraud than such coordinated moves by various arms of the government to suppress and hide information?” he said.

He posted a screenshot of the rejection message on X and questioned the coordination between the Home Ministry, Election Commission and the telecom regulator. “How is there such perfect synchronisation… to suppress? Does one need more telltale signs of guilt of Maharashtra election fraud than such coordinated moves?” he wrote.

‘More you censor, the louder people will ask’

Reacting to Chakravarty’s post, Congress’ whip in the Lok Sabha, Manickam Tagore, called the rejection of the application “ridiculous.”

In a post on X, Tagore questioned Home Minister Amit Shah, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw saying, “Amit bhai , if Maharashtra elections weren’t stolen, why are you so scared of a YouTube link? Ashwini ji, since when did TRAI become the BJP’s IT Cell? Ashwini ji, since when did TRAI become the BJP’s IT Cell?”

“Suppressing SMS won’t suppress the truth. Blocking Congress workers won’t block democracy. The more you censor, the louder people will ask: What exactly are you hiding about the Maharashtra 2024 elections?” he added.

TRAI has not issued a response to these allegations.

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