Mon Sep 08 07:25:03 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing and rewriting the provided text:
**TRAI Denies Blocking Political SMS Campaign Amid Voter Fraud Allegations**
**New Delhi – September 8, 2025** – The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has refuted allegations that it blocked a bulk SMS campaign by the Indian National Congress concerning purported voter fraud in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
In a statement released Monday, TRAI clarified that it plays no role in approving the content of individual bulk SMS messages. The clarification comes in response to claims that the Congress party was prevented from distributing a video link alleging voter fraud through SMS to its Maharashtra cadre.
“#FactCheck No application was received by #TRAI for sending SMS to a political party’s Maharashtra cadre on how the 2024 Assembly election was ‘stolen’. TRAI doesn’t approve individual SMS templates. As per the photo, it is clear that it was rejected by the service provider, STPL pic.twitter.com/KNan82dczM” – TRAI via X (formerly Twitter).
TRAI stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the SMS in question “was rejected by the service provider, STPL.”
According to current regulations, bulk SMS messages must be registered as approved templates with telecom operators. These templates are then uploaded to a blockchain system that filters out any unapproved bulk communications. The responsibility of evaluating and approving these templates lies with the telecom operators themselves, or their authorized blockchain technology providers.
The incident highlights the ongoing scrutiny surrounding the use of bulk SMS in political campaigning and the measures in place to prevent spam and misinformation.
First Piper 