The Congress on Wednesday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of violating the Model Code of Conduct, reported ANI. The party alleged that Modi had sought votes in the name of religion and asked the polling monitor to “cancel and withdraw” the Bharatiya Janata Party’s lotus symbol, reported PTI.
All India Congress Committee Secretary KC Mittal, who submitted the complaint, said that in his address at the Ramayana Darshanam Exhibition in Kanyakumari, the prime minister had repeatedly invoked “Bhagwan Shri Ram”, “Ayodhya”, “Ram Rajya” and “Hanumanji”.
Modi had addressed the gathering on January 12 via video conference. “He deliberately mentioned Bhagwan Shri Ram, Hanuman and other characters…and compared the policies of his government with those of Bhagwan Shri Ram. The whole idea and tenor of his speech was to invoke religion to further the election prospects of BJP,” read the complaint, according to The Indian Express.
On Tuesday, the BJP had lodged a similar complaint with the Election Commission against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. A party delegation had demanded that the poll monitor freeze the Congress’ hand symbol, alleging that Gandhi had linked it with religious figures during the Jan Vedna Sammelan held in Delhi earlier in January. Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was part of the delegation, had said that the Congress scion had tried to “give communal colour” to the upcoming Assembly elections in five states.
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