A caricature was tweeted on Saturday from the official Twitter and Instagram handle of Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) Gujarat showing the hanging of Muslim men wearing skull caps with the words “Satyamev Jayate” and “No Forgiveness to those Spreading Terror.”
The Twitter and Instagram handle of BJP Gujarat posted an insensitive caricature in response to the verdict on the 2008 serial blast case in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In this verdict, the Special Court sentenced 38 out of 49 convicts to death and pronounced life imprisonment for 11.
Defending his party’s stance, state BJP’s media cell convener Yagnesh Dave said: “The caricature was made (by the party) based on reports in newspapers and news channels and there is no intention of targeting any community.” When pointed out that media reports did not carry pictures of all the convicts wearing skull caps, Dave refused to explain it. He said that the purpose of the tweet was to welcome the unprecedented judgement.
“Terrorism has no religion and no one knows it better than Congress party which has lost two former Prime Ministers to it. Today the BJP is rejoicing through controversial tweets and taking advantage of the court judgement. However, such judgements should not be looked through a political prism and any opportunity to take political mileage out of it must be avoided,” said Manish Doshi, spokesperson, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee.
Meanwhile, fanning further dissent, PM Modi’s accusations on SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Sunday, came in for sharp criticism from various quarters. While addressing a political rally in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, the PM questioned: “Have you seen the polling symbol of SP? All the bombs in the initial blasts were planted on cycles. I am so surprised, why did they use cycles?”
Citing that some bombs in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts were planted on cycles, which is also the party symbol of the SP, the PM further stated: “The Gujarat modus operandi was in two ways. First, blasts at 50-60 places in the city at once, and after two hours, a car was parked near a hospital, to kill the relatives of the victims. Several people lost their lives. But what did the terrorists do? Have you seen the polling symbol of the Samajwadi Party (cycle)? All the bombs in the initial blasts were planted on cycles, near places where common people go to buy groceries. I am so surprised, why did they use cycles?”
However, political experts, reading between lines, have labelled PM Modi’s speech as an electoral tool to polarise votes in the ongoing UP Assembly elections.
