Non-Profit Org Demands Ban On 'BGMI-PUBG', Claims It To Be New Avatar Of Banned Chinese App 'PUBG'

A non-profit organisation on Monday urged the government to block the multiplayer online video game BGMI-PUBG, claiming that it is a new avatar of the banned Chinese gaming app PUBG and that it poses a grave threat to the security, sovereignty and integrity of India. Reacting to the issue, RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) said the government should thoroughly investigate 바카라�the antecedents and China influence바카라� of the BGMI-PUBG app and take 바카라�immediate action if found in violation바카라�. Urging the government to block BGMI-PUBG, the non-profit organisation, PRAHAR, wrote separate letters to Home Minister Amit Shah and Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, and said the Chinese multinational conglomerate Tencent Holdings Limited had launched PUBG in India which was one of the most downloaded games at the time of its ban in 2020. 바카라�In less than a year, PUBG was re-introduced in India by a front company of Tencent 바카라� Krafton under the new name BGMI 바카라� a move that was clearly meant to circumvent the Indian policymakers,바카라� it claimed.
On paper, PRAHAR said, Tencent is the second-largest shareholder of Krafton with 15.5% equity. 바카라�However, it is said that Tencent holds additional interests in promoter바카라�s various businesses, through private deals hidden from the public, giving them extraordinary control on Krafton,바카라� the non-profit organisation said, adding, 바카라�Most global media also refer to Krafton as Tencent-backed Krafton.바카라�

In its IPO prospectus, too, Krafton acknowledged its strategic partnership with Tencent, and the two companies together fought and won lawsuits in federal courts of the US and Germany in January 2022, PRAHAR said. 바카라�We therefore request your ministry to include Chinese app BGMI-PUBG among the list of banned apps in India under Section 69A of the IT Act in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, and public order and save millions of unsuspecting players from falling prey into the Chinese trap,바카라� it stated. In its letters to the ministers, PRAHAR stated that Tencent has been under scrutiny in several countries, including the US, where a national security panel is investigating its stakes in multiple gaming companies. Recently, the US, too, has added sites operated by Tencent and Alibaba to its 바카라�Notorious Markets List바카라� of businesses for allegedly trading in counterfeit goods, it added. 바카라�Free Fire was another gaming app that was banned on 14 February. Since Tencent also holds 18.7 per cent share in Free Fire, it raises a basic question: if Free Fire was banned, why was BGMI PUBG exempted?바카라� the non-profit organisation said.

Since the government does not have a mechanism or the machinery to closely track the movements of companies like Tencent, banning apps like Chinese BGMI PUBG is in the interest of both the country and its people, it added. 바카라�We need to protect ourselves against the Chinese soft influence which has been gaining ground in the recent years in the form of trade dominance and technology invasion. Both these are a grave threat to India바카라�s defence security and bargaining power during any potential military aggression,바카라� PRAHAR바카라�s national convenor and president Abhay Mishra said in a statement. In the 바카라�so-called new avatar바카라�, the BGMI-PUBG is no different from the erstwhile PUBG with Tencent still controlling it in the background, he said. 바카라�Such camouflage activities are nothing, but Ravana disguised as a Sadhu.바카라� he added. In its statement, PRAHAR said it has been joined by the Swadeshi Jagran Manch on the issue in seeking an investigation into the antecedents and China influence of BGMI-PUBG. 바카라�We urge the government to thoroughly investigate the antecedents and China influence of the BGMI-PUBG app and take immediate action if found in violation,바카라� the non-profit organisation quoted SJM co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan as saying in his reaction to the issue.

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