Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (EC) over Congress MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Shakti’ remark. The BJP said that Rahul Gandhi’s comments had a ‘misogynistic’ tone, and that the ‘obnoxious’ statement had “hurt the sentiments of Hindus”.
“It is posited that in Hinduism, Goddess Durga is one of the most revered deity, and is also prayed by the name ‘Shakti‘. This obnoxious statement against Hinduism and Hindu Gods has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Hindu as it was rendered with malicious intention of insulting the religious values associated with Shakti and creates enmity among the religions” the complaint read.
BJP accused Congress and Rahul Gandhi of “trying to appease some religious community”.
“The pertinacious deed of the Congress and Rahul Gandhi is jeopardising the peaceful environment of this nation which may pose a serious challenge to the fair and free elections”, the complaint read.
“As the term Shakti is traditionally associated with the female deity and women folk in India, thus along with hurting the religious sentiments, it also has an underlying misogynistic tone”, the complaint read.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaking at Shivaji Park in Mumbai after the conclusion of his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ had said, “Our fight against Modi is not on a personal level. Modi is a ‘mask’ who works for a ‘Shakti’ (power). He is a shallow man who doesn’t have a 56-inch chest.”
“There is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti. The question is, what is that Shakti. The soul of the King is in the EVM. This true. The soul of the king is in the EVM and every institution of the country, in ED, CBI and Income Tax department.…,” Rahul Gandhi said at the INDIA rally in Mumbai.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday slammed the Opposition parties and Congress MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi over the latter’s ‘Shakti’ remark. “During their first rally in Mumbai, they made statements about destroying ‘Shakti’, about fighting against ‘Shakti’…Their statement has been a sheer insult to the Hindu religion, Hindu faith,” Modi said.
Addressing poll rallies in Telangana and Karnataka on Monday, the prime minister was quoted by PTI as saying that the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be a fight between destroyers and worshippers of ‘Shakti’. He said the INDIA bloc announced to “finish, destroy Shakti”.
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Published: 20 Mar 2024, 06:07 PM IST