A 'hand' can pull out 'lotus' from mud, mocks Congress

Taking a potshot at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for filing complaint against its vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the Congress on Wednesday said that a hand (Congress) can pull a lotus (BJP) out of mud.

"It is natural for a losing BJP to get mad and hyper. Start working on the issues put forward by people. A hand can pull a lotus out of mud," Congress leader Randeep Surjewala told ANI.

Rubbishing the claims made by the BJP, Surjewala talked about his party's symbol and highlighted its importance, adding that the saffron party should rather concentrate on the upcoming elections.

"Hand creates harmony, strengthens mankind, gives inspiration to move forward, and it is Congress' election symbol as well. So, stop nit-picking and fight elections," he added.

The BJP earlier on January 13 filed a complaint with the poll panel against Gandhi for hurting religious sentiments, by co-relating the symbol of Congress with religious gods such as Shiv, Guru Nanak, Buddha, Islam and Mahavir.

In a complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer, the BJP had alleged that Gandhi, during a Jan Vedna Sammelan convention, held in Delhi, had violated the provisions of Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, Model Code of Conduct and guidelines issued by the Supreme Court.

During the convention, Gandhi had said that he saw the Congress symbol - an open palm - in the photos of gods belonging to various religions.

"I was told that the Congress party was around 100 years old. But one day, when I was going through some photos, I saw the Congress symbol in a photo of Shivji," Gandhi said.