New Delhi, Dec 14 After derogatory slogans raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Congress' 'vote chori' protest escalated into a political storm on Sunday, the party sought to downplay the controversy, distancing itself from the remarks and denying any link with the slogans.
Congress workers and leaders had gathered at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on Sunday for a protest rally against alleged 'vote chori', accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) of colluding to manipulate elections.
While the demonstration was intended to target what the party described as electoral manipulation, it soon triggered controversy after several participants were heard raising objectionable slogans against the Prime Minister.
As slogans echoed across the venue, some workers were heard chanting, "Modi teri kabra khudegi, aaj nahi to kal khudegi (Modi, your grave will be dug, if not today, then tomorrow)", along with "Vote chor, gaddi chhord", targeting the Prime Minister.
Throughout the protest rally, party workers continued to raise similar objectionable slogans while holding placards and banners.
Responding to the controversy, Congress MP Tariq Anwar told IANS that the slogans did not reflect the party's position.
"I don't think this is the party's slogan. It is likely the result of some misguided workers who do not understand properly. The party's actual slogan is very straightforward -- 'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod'," he said.
Senior Congress leader Nana Patole went a step further, alleging that the BJP may have planted people at the protest to raise the objectionable slogans and deflect attention from the core issues raised by the Congress.
Speaking to reporters, Patole said, "Slogans like this cannot come from the Congress party… perhaps some of their own people (BJP) were sent to the rally.
Reiterating the party's stand, Patole added, "Such slogans were likely raised by some of their (BJP’s) own members. No slogan like this can be attributed to Congress. We can say that the slogan 'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhord' was given by our leader, Rahul Gandhi, and that is ours. These frivolous slogans do not belong to us."
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