The political parties depend a lot on social media for upcoming Assembly Elections in five states as the Election Commission has banned physical rallies amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Political parties like Aam Aadmi Party are trying to use every possible way for promotion, and in such an attempt, they used a copyright cartoon ‘Laati’ for an anti-BJP tweet. Kanchan Jadli, the artist who is behind Laati Toon, expressed her displeasure over the unauthorized use of her character for political purpose, and asked AAP Uttarakhand to remove the tweet and issue an apology for the same.
Laati is my copyrighted cartoon character and your misusing is violation of copyright regulations. You @aaputtarakhand are urged to take down this immediately and apologise for the same.@twitterindia https://t.co/MmTp1Faanh
— lati_art (@Kanchan_Jadli) January 21, 2022
In the tweet, Kanchan wrote, “Laati is my copyrighted cartoon character, and your misuse is a violation of copyright regulations. You AAP Uttarakhand are urged to take down this immediately and apologise for the same.”
AAP alleged ‘Lati’ wants to remove BJP from Uttarakhand
Kanchan Jadli was reacting to a tweet published in Hindi by AAP Uttarakhand, which had said, “Now Laati of Uttarakhand is also saying – BJP has destroyed Uttarakhand.” The Tweet included the Laati cartoon character, with BJP’s lotus symbol on her scarf, which was crossed over by AAP. The presence of the lotus symbol shows that the artwork was commissioned by BJP for promotional purposes, and AAP misused it for its own benefit.
The original image was shared by BJP
Laati Toon is being extensively used by Bharatiya Janata Party in its promotion for Uttarakhand Assembly elections. The edited image that AAP had used was originally shared by BJP Uttarakhand. In that tweet, BJP Uttarakhand had written, “BJP is dedicated for the all-round development of the future of the daughters of Uttarakhand. BJP has done it, BJP is doing it, and only BJP will do it in the future. Uttarakhand wants Modi-Dhami government.”
उत्तराखंड की बेटियों के सर्वांगीण विकास के लिए समर्पित है भाजपा
— BJP Uttarakhand (@BJP4UK) January 20, 2022
किया है, करती है, करेगी सिर्फ भाजपा
उत्तराखंड की पुकार, मोदी-धामी सरकार#UttarakhandWithBJP pic.twitter.com/7aje3DOOgE
There are several other tweets where BJP has shared Laati Toon. Here are a few examples.
— B L Santhosh (@blsanthosh) January 14, 2022
‘देवभूमि’ उत्तराखंड के देव तुल्य निवासियों को मकरैणी-उत्तरैणी एवं घुघुतिया पर्व की हार्दिक बधाई एवं शुभकामनाएं। मुझे विश्वास है कि हमारे यशस्वी प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के दूरगामी दृष्टिकोण के अनुरूप, हम सब मिलकर इस दशक को “उत्तराखंड का दशक” बनाएंगे।@Kanchan_Jadli pic.twitter.com/BF69nbz5md
— Satpal Maharaj (@satpalmaharaj) January 14, 2022
भाजपा सरकार महालक्ष्मी, नंदा गौरा , किशोरी शक्ति, घसियारी और आँचल अमृत जैसी योजनाओं से उत्तराखंड की बेटियों को सशक्त कर रही है। उत्तराखंड की सभी बेटियों के साथ सदा खड़ी है भाजपा।
— BJP Uttarakhand (@BJP4UK) January 21, 2022
किया है, करती है, करेगी सिर्फ़ भाजपा#UttarakhandWithBJP pic.twitter.com/0ZL2XfdH8q
Laati Toon was shared by PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also shared a tweet where Laati Toon was used. PM Modi had quoted a tweet by Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami in which he had wished the people of Uttarakhand for the Makraini-Utraini festival. PM Modi said, “This message is going to connect everyone emotionally. The way Devbhoomi is progressing on the path of progress, it is proof that Uttarakhand is going to play an important role in the making of New India.”
यह संदेश हर किसी को भावनात्मक रूप से जोड़ने वाला है। देवभूमि जिस प्रकार उन्नति के पथ पर अग्रसर है, वो इस बात का प्रमाण है कि न्यू इंडिया के निर्माण में उत्तराखंड एक महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाने जा रहा है। https://t.co/v0ZQDm8Ldu
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 14, 2022
Who is Kanchan Jadli?
Kanchan is a young freelance artist from Uttarakhand. She created the Laati cartoon character during her stay at her native place during lockdown to showcase Pahadi culture. In Kumaoni and Gadhwali languages, Laati means silly girl. Using her toons, Kanchan spreads awareness about the environment, wildlife, Pahadi culture and more.
By the time this report was published, AAP Uttarakhand had not deleted the tweet or issued any apology.
