After election commission barred word “Pappu” from being used in electronic advertisements for the upcoming polls in Gujarat, BJP today released a video which makes a reference to “Yuvraj” to seemingly target Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
The latest advertisement, released today on the Facebook page of the Gujarat BJP, after getting a clearance from the Election Commission (EC), uses the word “Yuvraj” (prince) to target the Congress leader.
While EC observed “Pappu” as a social media stain coined to target Gandhi, BJP leaders frequently taunt the Congress scion with words like “Yuvraj” or “shahzada”.
In the 49-second video which is set at a grocery store, a voice says “Sir, Sir…”, followed by the response from the shop owner’s assistant who says, “Yuvraj has come”.
In his reply to the “Yuvraj”, who is not seen in the clip, the shopkeeper says he will give him any grocery item but he won’t get their votes as the shop as burnt down in riots during the past rule of the Congress.
In the video, the shop owner’s wife says they will vote only for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP and opposition Congress have been targetting each other’s leaders by putting up mocking advertisements on social media with a growing frequency.
Gujarat is going to polls on December 9 and December 14.
Earlier, EC barred BJP from using a word ‘Pappu’ in an electronic advertisement, calling it “derogatory”.
The BJP had said the script of that advertisement did not link the word to any individual.
The media committee under the Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) objected to the word mentioned in the script of the advertisement which was submitted by the party for approval last month.
“Before making any election-related advertisement, we have to submit a script to the committee to get a certificate. However, they raised an objection to the word ‘Pappu’ saying it is derogatory. They asked us to remove or replace it,” a senior BJP leader had said yesterday.
He said the party will replace the word and submit a new script for the EC’s approval.
When asked if the advertisement released today is the same wherein the EC had barred the BJP from using the word “Pappu”, BJP spokesperson Harshad Patel said, “I am not aware whether the advertisement released today was the same one or not.”