A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, while addressing a rally in poll-bound Rajasthan, referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as ‘panauti’ (bad omen) for India’s World Cup loss, Bharatiya Janata Party on 22 November moved the Election Commission and sought action.
“Panauti… Panauti… Panauti… our boys were well on their way to winning the world cup but Panauti made them lose… the people of this country know,” Gandhi had said.
Following this, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad criticized the Congress leader and questioned the usage of such a word for the Prime Minister of India and asked the Wayanad MP to apologize.
“What happened to you, Rahul Gandhi? You are using such words for the Prime Minister of the country. Our Prime Minister met the players and motivated them. Winning or losing is part of the game. Rahul Gandhi needs to apologise,” Prasad was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
ALSO READ: Rajasthan poll: Rahul Gandhi calls PM Modi ‘panauti’ over World Cup final defeat, BJP leader demands apology
Not only this, Gandhi, while addressing a poll rally in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur today, Gandhi said, “The pickpocket never comes alone, there are three people. One comes from the front, one from the back, and one from the distance… Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s job is to divert your attention. He comes on TV from the front and distracts the public by raising topics of Hindu-Muslim, demonetization, and GST. Meanwhile, Adani comes from behind and takes the money.”
In a letter to the poll panel, the BJP wrote, as reported by Hindustan Times, “Comparing a prime minister to a ‘Jaibkatra’ (pickpocket) and ‘Panauti‘ is most unbecoming of a senior leader and is a symptom of plummeting levels of political discourse.”
“Calling any person for that instance a Jaibkatra not only amounts to vicious abuse and personal attack but also a character assassination of that person against whom such remark has been made with a clear intent to harm his reputation and mislead the public,” the BJP letter added.
With agency inputs.
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Updated: 22 Nov 2023, 06:03 PM IST