New Delhi: Congress has lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer of poll-bound Karnataka against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the fact that invoked the Hindu deity Hanuman’s name in a campaign rally in the state.
The Election Commission has, multiple times, asked campaigners to desist from seeking votes in the name of religion.
The Congress had promised to ban the Hindutva outfit Bajrang Dal, among others, as part of its election manifesto for Karnataka, where some polls have it winning by a large margin. The Bharatiya Janata Party has opposed this promise and as its star campaigner, Modi has been insisting rallies that such a promise by Congress means that the party wishes to “lock up” Bajrangbali, another name for Hanuman.
As The Wire has reported before, Modi chanted ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ at all three of his rallies on May 2.
In the end of one speech, Modi said, “Please cast your vote and do not forget to chant ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ when you exercise your franchise.”
The news agency PTI reports that in its complaint to the Election Commission, Congress has asked the poll body to pass orders and restrain Modi from taking the names of Hindu gods, in violation of the EC’s own advisory, and stop him from soliciting votes in the name of religion.
The Congress has also asked whether late Manohar Parrikar’s ban on the group Sri Ram Sene was an insult to the Hindu deity Ram or if the BJP’s decision in Maharashtra to back a dissident faction of Shiv Sena – thus splitting its age-old ally into two – was an insult to Shiva.
Party leaders Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh voiced these sentiments in press conference and on Twitter too.
“The Prime Minister in his address at public rallies spoke critically of the Congress party and in the melee attempted to portray the Congress party as anti-Hindu by taking the name of Lord Hanuman i.e. ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ only with the intention of soliciting votes for the BJP and urging people to not vote for Congress,” the party said in its complaint, according to PTI.