Congress reaches EC against BJP using Modi's MSG speech for votes

The party also attacks PM, Narendra Modi, for not giving due attention to national security

The Congress on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the Madison Square Garden to boost its campaign for the Maharashtra assembly polls.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Gulam Nabi Azad blamed the BJP of exploiting Modi’s speech to garner votes. He said the Congress has taken a serious note of it and lodged an official complaint with the Election Commission.

“Modi had delivered his speech as the Prime Minister of India and not as a BJP leader. Now, the party is showing the same speech during its poll campaign with the BJP’s symbol, which clearly is a misuse. We have requested the Election Commission to take action against the BJP,” Azad told reporters, a few hours before the conclusion of the campaigning for the Maharashtra Assembly polls.

Modi had addressed over 19,000 people — mostly Indian disapora — at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York on September 28 during his maiden visit to the US after becoming the Prime Minister.

Azad also slammed Modi for focusing on campaigning for assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana at the cost of national security.

“He can campaign for his party but Modi should have paid equal attention to national security. He should have visited the villages in Jammu and Kashmir, which were targeted by Pakistan in cross-border attacks. But he has not had the time, as he is busy addressing 23 poll meetings in Maharashtra alone,” Azad said. The senior Congress leader called Modi as the “weakest Prime Minister” and said that he had failed to keep his poll assurance of giving a befitting reply to Pakistan.

“Instead, a red carpet was rolled out for the Pakistan Prime Minster and there have been an exchange of gifts. Despite this, Pakistan continues to indulge in cross-border attacks,” he said.

Azad also took Modi to task for promoting himself and his party instead taking decisions to fulfill promises. “Modi is cutting ribbons and launching various schemes and programmes initiated by the UPA and taking credit for the same,” he said.