New Delhi: The BJP complained to the Election Commission against Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Shakti’ remark, accusing him of insulting Hinduism and Hindus, of misogyny and also of ‘lowering the majesty’ of the Supreme Court – which had upheld the use of EVMs – by spreading misinformation and disinformation about them.
The party quoted verbatim the sentences of Rahul Gandhi in Mumbai, and claimed that these amounted to spreading hatred against the worshippers of Goddess Durga, who is also called Shakti. “While addressing the rally, Gandhi said – Hindu Dharm mein ek shabd hai Shakti. Hum ek shakti ke khilaaf lad rahe hain. Sawaal ye hai ki wo shakti kya hai? Raja ki aatma EVM mein hai. Ye sach hai. Raja ki aatma EVM mein hai,” the BJP’s memorandum said.
The BJP’s memorandum said, “… in Hinduism, Goddess Durga is among the most revered deities and is prayed by the name Shakti. This obnoxious statement against Hinduism and Hindu gods has deeply hurt the sentiments of Hindus as it was rendered with the malicious intention of insulting the religious values associated with ‘Shakti’ and creates enmity among the religions so that the INC in general and Rahul Gandhi in particular can appease some religious community.”
The complaint added that since the word Shakti was associated with female deities and women, Rahul’s statement was also “misogynistic”.
