Rajasthan polls: Cong accuses PM Modi of 'hate speech', seeks EC action against him

The Congress on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of delivering hate speech in poll-bound Rajasthan and urged the Election Commission to take action against him for asking voters to press the "lotus" button as if they're awarding the "death sentence" to the Congress.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh cited the prime minister's speech made in Barmer on Wednesday and said the people of the state will surely respond to such "arrogance" of the prime minister.

"Jab nash manuj pe chhata hai, pahle vivek marr jata hai (sanity deserts man before destruction)," Modi said in a post in Hindi on X.

"Prime Minister Modi's hatred towards Congress leaders can be easily gauged from his statement. How can a person holding a responsible position like the prime minister talk about hanging people through voting? The prime minister is strangling democracy," Ramesh alleged.

"This is a clear example of hate speech. If the Election Commission is serious about fair and free elections then they should take immediate cognizance of this and take strict action," the Congress leader demanded.

"The public will definitely respond to this arrogance of Prime Minister Modi in the elections," he also said in his post.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attacked the ruling Congress in Rajasthan over corruption and "appeasement policy" and claimed the morale of terrorists and rioters soars wherever the party is in power, as he urged voters to punish the Congress in the upcoming state elections.

"You have got an opportunity to punish them. Press the button with the lotus symbol so that their punishment is ensured. Jaise unhe phansi de rahe ho, aise kamal ke nishaan pe batan dabao (Press on the button with the lotus symbol as if you are sentencing them to death)," Modi said addressing an election rally in Barmer in Rajasthan.

Lotus is the BJP's poll symbol.

The prime minister said that in the last five years, people in the state have not been able to celebrate any festival peacefully.

"Sometimes there are riots, sometimes stone pelting and curfew. This has been the picture of Congress in the last five years. Therefore, it is essential to remove Congress from here," he said.

The Congress is seeking to repeat its government in Rajasthan while the BJP is putting all its might to dethrone it from the desert state, which has seen alternate governments of the Congress and the BJP in the last many years.

Assembly elections in Rajasthan will be held on November 25 and counting will be done on December 3.