The BJP has written to the Election Commission, seeking a First Information Report against Congress's Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, over what they have called 'lies" against the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. A party delegation, led by Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, has submitted a 10-page memorandum to the Commission, mentioning Mr Gandhi's speeches and remarks and sought that he be "censured" and "restrained".
The move comes on the heels of the Congress complaint on the BJP's "communal ads" -- the party today said the poll body has taken note of it. The party has accused the BJP of posting a misleading advertisement on social media that contained "false information" about the leaders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM, Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD.
The BJP filed its complaint today and Mr Meghwal, who led the delegation to the Commission, said, "We told them Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi spoke lies in Maharashtra... he said BJP wants to crush the Constitution".
The complaint also said Mr Gandhi had falsely accused other states of "stealing and snatching alleged opportunities from the State of Maharashtra".
The reference was to Mr Gandhi's "totally unverified claims... that Apple's iPhones and Boeing's airplanes are being manufactured in other states at the expense of Maharashtra".
"He has been consistently making false, unverified, and baseless allegations against the BJP... solely to achieve electoral gains in the election in Maharashtra," the BJP complained.
The Congress complaint -- filed on Sunday -- referred to an advertisement posted on Facebook on November 9, which the party claimed was in blatant violation of the Model Code of Conduct .
"In the said advertisement... false allegations and statements are being ascribed to leaders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Additionally, the leaders are being portrayed in a negative and false light, with the sole intent of propagating false and baseless narratives against them," the complaint read.
"In the said advertisement BJP had first tried to use actors who resemble the leaders of JMM, INC and RJD. Consequently, the advertisement has tried to raise several blatantly false allegations against the leaders of the JMM, INC and RJD. One of the allegations is that these leaders are Anti-Adivasi' (against the tribals) who are banding together under the garb of being Pro-Adivasis to ultimately serve their own personal agendas," the complaint read.
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