BJP Goes To Election Commission Over Congress's Priyank Kharge's Barb

The BJP on Tuesday raised with the Election Commission the issue of the Congress promising tough action against Bajrang Dal and its leader Prinyak Kharge calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi "nalayak" as it accused the opposition party of resorting to politics of appeasement and division in Karnataka.

Union minister Piyush Goyal, who led the BJP delegation to the EC, defended the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the RSS-affiliated Vishva Hindu Parishad, as an organisation devoted to Lord Hanuman and serving people, and said the Congress' attack on it was "shameful". It shows that the party believes in only appeasement, he told reporters.

Asked if the party raised the issue before the poll panel, he said every "objectionable" comment and action of the Congress aimed at dividing the society was taken up.

Party sources said the Bajrang Dal issue was raised orally before the EC.

The delegation included BJP MP Anil Baluni and party functionary Om Pathak.

Goyal claimed that the Congress is rattled as the BJP is set to win the May 10 polls, adding that the opposition party is now trying to vitiate the law and order situation and divide the society as a last resort.

Targeting the Congress, he said its president Mallikarjun Kharge first called Modi a "poisonous snake" and his MLA-son has now made another objectionable remark by calling him "nalayak" (inept). "We have demanded that the EC take strict action in all these matters," he said.

The senior BJP leader also dismissed the Congress' complaint of "hate speech" against ruling party leaders like Home Minister Amit Shah and its president J P Nadda, saying they have raised the issues of national security and integrity.

The Congress is trying to tarnish the image of Modi and India as the country's reputation has risen under his leadership, he said.

The Congress in its election manifesto said on Tuesday that it is committed to taking firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations such as Bajrang Dal and the Popular Front of India (PFI) for "spreading hatred" among communities on grounds of caste and religion.

The action will include a "ban" against such organisations, the party said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)