Thiruvananthapuram: Removal of opposition leader V D Satheesan’s video interview with a television channel from social media was a mistake on the part of Meta, said chief electoral officer Rathan Kelkar.Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kelkar said that police had only asked Meta, which manages Facebook, to remove some unpleasant comments below the video, but the authorities removed the entire video. He said that they have been told to restore the videos. “The police have spoken to Meta officials. The police have powers under IT Act to act on their own,” Kelkar said. He added that Election Commission (EC) has not given specific instructions regarding the videos. Kelkar said that EC would launch a campaign called ‘My Vote My Strength’ to encourage young voters to exercise their franchise in the assembly election. It will be launched on March 28 at Manaveeyam Veedhi, Thiruvananthapuram. A series of awareness programmes, including street plays, flash mobs, awareness classes, discussions among newly registered voters, questions and answers about voting rights, distribution of pamphlets, public awareness campaigns by police and district authorities, will be held. The campaign is being organised by EC, Kerala State Legal Services Authority and Janamaitri police. He also said that an enquiry report has come regarding the BJP seal on the document circulated by the EC to all political parties. A decision would be taken in consultation with chief election commissioner, he added.
