Row erupts over BJP's beef ad, rivals approach EC

A controversial advertisement by BJP demanding explanation from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for beef-eating remarks by his "friends" today stirred Bihar's electoral cauldron, with the rival alliance complaining to the poll panel about attempts to "polarize" the election by "promoting communal hatred".
The BJP, however, defended its action, saying there was "nothing wrong in it".
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 Kishanganj, Saharsa and other areas that will go to poll in in the fifth and final round of assembly election tomorrow.

The ad, with the photograph of a woman cuddling a cow, referred to the purported remarks of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his party's vice president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over beef consumption and asked Kumar to "stop politics of vote bank and answer if he agrees with statements of his friends on beef."
The advertisement quoted Lalu Prasad's "Hindus also eat beef" remark and Singh's comment that "it is written in Vedas and Puranas that saints used to eat beef in ancient times."
It also quoted Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's comment that "if I want to eat beef nobody can stop me."

The advertisement in Hindi with word "beef" highlighted in red, concluded with: "jawab nahi vote nahi" (if there is no answer, no vote).

Reacting angrily to the advertisement, the grand alliance today approached the Election Commission seeking action against the BJP for trying to "polarize Bihar elections by promoting communal hatred".
A delegation comprising JD(U) general secretary K C Tyagi and Congress spokespersons RPN Singh and Ajoy Kumar today met the EC and alleged the advertisement amounted to "seeking votes in the name of religion".
The BJP, however, defended its action with senior party leader Sushil Kumar Modi saying,"There is nothing wrong in our advertisement on beef issue and asking the chief minister to break his silence on controversial remarks made by the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his colleague Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Karnataka Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah."

"We were not the first to raise the issue (of beef). It was Lalu who did. We have just responded," Sushil Modi said in Patna.