The BJP has filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accusing him of creating “a linguistic and cultural divide” with his remarks during his recent Lok Sabha election campaign in Coimbatore.
In its complaint, the BJP said Mr. Gandhi tried to create a linguistic and cultural divide between the Tamil-speaking people and others by levelling a “baseless” allegation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants only one language in India, implying thereby that he is against Tamil language.
“By making this false, unsubstantiated, unverified and baseless allegation, he has hit at the credibility of the Prime Minister, besides creating a bias against him in the minds of people of Tamil Nadu. He has made a nefarious attempt to create a linguistic and cultural divide for electoral gains,” the party alleged. On the other hand, Mr. Modi has very clearly exhibited his utmost respect for Tamil language and culture, and expressed his desire to develop Tamil into an international language, which makes all Tamil-speaking people extremely proud of their heritage, culture and linguistic richness, the BJP said.
Alleging that Mr. Gandhi violated the Model Code of Conduct and provisions of the Representation of the People Act and other legislations, the BJP appealed to the EC to direct the Congress leader to tender an unconditional public apology. It also urged the poll body to reprimand, censure and restrain him, and direct the registration of an FIR against him.
