Day before final phase of Bihar polls, BJP targets Grand Alliance with ‘holy cow’ ad

JDU, RJD leaders turn to EC, demand stern action against BJP

Patna

: A day before the last phase of crucial Bihar Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday issued an advertisement in newspapers showing a woman hugging a ‘holy’ cow.

The advertisement, carried by several newspapers in the state, highlighted controversial statements made by the Grand Alliance (Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress) leaders on beef row.

The ad quoted RJD chief Lalu Yadav saying, "Even Hindus eat beef and people who go outside India also eat beef." It also quoted another RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh saying, “According to the Vedas, rishis (seers) used to eat beef.”

To utter surprise, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's statement that “no one can stop me from eating beef” was also mentioned in the ad.

The BJP advertisement questioning the "silence" of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over "repeated insult" to revered cow by his "friends" everyday appeared in vernacular newspapers in Kisanganj, Saharsa and other areas that will witness voting on Thursday in the fifth and final round of Assembly election.

The BJP ad asked CM to "stop politics of vote bank and answer if he agrees with statements of his friends on beef." The advertisement said "jawab nahi vote nahi" (if there is no answer no vote).

The Kumar-led Grand Alliance took strong objection to the BJP advertisement and knocked the doors of the Election Commission seeking action against it.

JD(U) General Secretary K C Tyagi said that a delegation of JD(U), RJD and Congress would meet Election Commission in Delhi on the controversial BJP advertisement. He said leaders of the three parties would also submit a memorandum in this regard with Election Office in Patna.

Tyagi claimed the advertisement was against model code of conduct and the party which issued it should be punished. "If Election Commission fails to initiate stern action we will knock the doors of President Pranab Mukherjee," he added.

Additional Chief Electoral Officer R Lakshamanan said the EC would seek report from the district magistrates where such advertisements have come up in newspapers to verify if there was any violation of election code.

The CPI(M) also demanded that Election Commission initiate suo-motu action against BJP and asserted that "dal and divisive politics" will seal NDA's fate in Bihar polls. "Comrades from #Bihar say they woke up to an inflammatory and disgusting BJP ad. Sure signs of desperation in latest 'beef' push. @cpimspeak," CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said in a series of tweets.

"It's naive to think that people will forget dal, if you harp on beef and religion. Dal and divisive politics, for sure, sealed your fate."

"Serious enough breach by BJP for EC to initiate action suo-motu. Time for EC to become proactive, for prevention is better than cure," he said.

Polling will held in 57 seats in Bihar in the last round.