Derogatory name gets replaced Election Commission’s involvement

The recent verbal war between the two parties- BJP and Congress were based on the use of a derogatory name in the formers electronic advertisement.

After a reprimand from the Election Commission, the BJP has replaced the name Pappu (a term used as a swipe at Rahul Gandhi) with ‘Yuvraj’ in Gujarat election campaign ads. The development comes after the poll panel barred the ruling BJP in Gujarat from using the word ‘Pappu’ in an electronic advertisement, calling it derogatory. ‘Pappu’ is perceived as a social media slur coined to slam Rahul.

Earlier, the BJP, in its defense, had said that the script of the advertisement did not refer to any individual. According to BJP sources, the media committee under the Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) objected to the word mentioned in the script of the advertisement which was submitted by the party for approval last month.

 

BJP’s electronic advertisement

The latest advertisement, released on Wednesday on the Facebook page of the Gujarat BJP, after getting a clearance from the Election Commission (EC), uses the word ‘Yuvraj’ (prince) to target the Congress leader.

While ‘Pappu’ is perceived as a social media slur coined to target Gandhi, BJP leaders frequently taunt the Congress scion with words like ‘Yuvraj’ or ‘shahzada’.

In the 49-second video which is set at a grocery store, a voice says “Sir, Sir…”, followed by the response from the shop owner’s assistant who says, “‘Yuvraj’ has come”.

In his reply to the ‘Yuvraj’, who is not seen in the clip, the shopkeeper says he will give him any grocery item but he won’t get their votes as the shop was burnt down in riots during the past rule of the Congress.

In the video, the shop owner’s wife says they will vote only for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP and opposition Congress have been targeting each other’s leaders by putting up mocking advertisements on social media with a growing frequency.

Gujarat is going to polls on December 9 and December 14.

Earlier, the BJP was barred by the EC from using the word ‘Pappu’ in an electronic advertisement, calling it “derogatory”.

The BJP had said the script of that advertisement did not link the word to any individual.