The grand alliance on Wednesday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against an advertisement issued by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) showing a woman hugging a holy cow.
"After the meeting of mahagathbandhan's delegation with the Election Commission over objectionable advertisements on October 30, the latter had reacted to it saying that 'both the advertisements have the potential of aggravating the differences between different classes of India also creating mutual hatred, ill-will and disharmony'," JD (U) leader K.C. Tyagi told reporters.
Tyagi further said the Election Commission had also ordered not to publish these advertisements or sinister to that during the election.
"But the ruling party doesn't even care about all these things. It was also said that the District Magistrate will act in accordance with Section 127. Further it was stated that no advertisements would be published before showing them to the chief election commissioner," Tyagi said.
"But despite that, such kinds of advertisements are being published from the last three days. It is a sign of their defeat and anxiety," he added.
"We are disappointed that the impartial and neutral approach that should have been promptly seen from the Election Commission is not there. It is the constitutional body and if it doesn't act promptly then there is no relief," he added.
He further said that they are disappointed but they have come with a hope that no such kind of advertisements will further be published in any of the newspapers else there is no point of impartial elections in the country.
A day before Bihar votes in the fifth and final phase of the assembly elections, the BJP gave a prominent ad in newspapers featuring a woman hugging a cow, attacking Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on his silenceover statements made by his allies on beef.
"Stop vote bank politics and explain whether you endorse these statements," the ad says, before listing three comments made by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and others. In each of the statements, the word beef has been highlighted in red.
