Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Congress has filed a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging that BJP aimed to create hatred among communities by publishing an ad faulting the Central government for not executing Mohammad Afzal, a terrorist on death row.
The advertisement, which was published in newspapers on Thursday, didn’t name Afzal but alleges the Parliament attack convict is still alive because of "votebank politics". "How long compromise with terrorism for the sake of votes would continue?" the advertisement asks.
The model code of conduct forbids parties from activities that may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different social groups, said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Delhi.
The Congress though may have to do some answering itself, as it has reportedly published an ad that accuses the BJP of being soft on terror and labels the release of terrorist Massod Azhar during the NDA regime as a “black day”.
PTI reports the Congress advertisement targets BJP leader Jaswant Singh and says: "Remember that black day, when a BJP-led NDA government's minister went to release terrorist Masood Azhar to Kandahar instead of hanging him." Singh was the external affairs in the NDA government and took Azhar to Kandahar in his flight as part of a deal to secure the release of hijacked Indian Airlines passengers in December 1999.
The ad also refers to BJP leader Advani's visit to Pakistan "to bow down at the grave of Mohammad Ali Jinnah".
The Congress and the BJP slammed each other as campaigning for the second and final phase of Gujarat Assembly elections ended on Friday.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi charged the Congress with double standards, saying it accused him of contempt of court when its government in Delhi disobeyed the Supreme Court verdict sentencing Afzal to death.
Modi, who addressed a series of meetings in Kheda and Anand districts in central Gujarat, asked the crowds if the Congress refusal to hang Afzal did not amount to contempt of court.
“Brothers and sisters, the Supreme Court ordered him to be hanged. They have violated that order. Tell me is this not contempt of court? If your answer is yes, then teach these people a lesson they will not forget,” he said.
Advani, who was in Ahmedabad, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “does not understand politics” and this explains his allegation that the BJP was scared of Modi.
"I would just say that the Prime Minister is not a political person because a politically aware person cannot make such a comment. But the Prime Minister does not understand politics so in his innocence he said what he did," said Advani.
Rejecting Modi's 'Resurgent Gujarat' campaign, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi alleged Modi had used public money to project his government.
"I am told that every village gets 24-hour power supply but I cannot see power being supplied even in the cities," Rahul said in Vadadora.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
 |
 |
 |
|
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.