Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the people of Karnataka to say 'Jai Bajrangbali' when they cast their vote to "punish" the Congress for its "culture of abuse", as Bharatiya Janaat Party leaders stepped up attack on the opposition party over its election manifesto promise of banning the Bajrang Dal.
Hitting back, the Congress alleged that Prime Minister Modi and his party are refusing to speak about the "scam-ridden" BJP government in Karnataka and are "merely looking for lame-duck excuses to polarise the election". The party defended its stand against the Bajrang Dal, saying the Constitution prescribes action against any individual and organisation spreading hatred or enmity.
Addressing a public meeting in Uttara Kannada district, Modi said the Congress and its leaders hate and abuse him because he has crashed their "corrupt system".
"In this election, Congress is seeking votes in the name of its leader who is retiring...the other way in which they are seeking votes is by abusing Modi... .
"Will anyone in Karnataka accept this culture of abuse? What will you (people) do this time? Will you punish them? Will you punish the abusers?... When you press the button in the polling booth, punish them by saying 'Jai Bajrangbali'," he added.
Prime Minister Modi also urged the audience at all his rallies to raise the chant of 'Bajranjbali ki Jai' with him, besides his usual slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and ' Vande Mataram', hailing the motherland.
Modi had come down heavily on the Congress on Tuesday after its poll promise of banning Bajrang Dal, saying the Congress in its manifesto "has decided to lock up Lord Hanuman. Initially, they locked up Prabhu Shri Ram (Lord Ram). And now they want to lock up people who say 'Jai Bajrang Bali' (Hail Hanuman)."
On Wednesday, he made it a point at the beginning as well as at the end of his speech to raise the slogan praising Lord Hanuman in Mulki in Dakshina Kannada district, Ankola in Uttara Kannada and Bailhongal in Belagavi.
The BJP, its Karnataka unit and other party leaders also tweeted on Wednesday with the hashtag 'HanumaBhaktaModi'.
The BJP had termed the Congress move as an "insult" to Lord Hanuman and the 'height of appeasement".
The Bajrang Dal has, meanwhile, announced it will conduct 'Hanuman Chalisa' recital programmes across Karnataka on Thursday.
"This is the time when 'Dharma' is in danger and standing together is the only way forward. We should set aside our differences and come together to protect dharma, and hold hands together," the right-wing organisation said in a statement.
However, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said that the Constitution and law "are clear - any individual or organisation spreading hatred or enmity must be proceeded against in accordance with law".
"The duty to follow Raj darma is of the prime minister and chief minister but they refuse to do so," he tweeted.
He said Lord Hanuman depicts piousness, service and sacrifice. Comparing him "as synonymous to any individual or organisation is an insult, the Congress leader said and asked the prime minister to apologise.
"Kannadigas are ready for 40% Bhrastasura Dahana!," he tweeted.
However, Karnataka Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar, who was the state convenor of Bajrang Dal, said the Congress' move is aimed at appeasing the Muslims.
In a series of tweets, the minister said Bajrang Dal is not an anti-social organisation and it strives for the protection of the Hindu community and "gomata" (mother cow). He wondered whether the Congress wants to ban Bajrang Dal just because the BJP banned the Popular Front of India last year.
The political row over the issue has spread to other states too.
In BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state home minister Narottam Mishra said Congress' state chief Kamal Nath should clarify his stand on the issue as he is a devotee of Lord Hanuman.
“What is its (being a Hanuman devotee) relation with this (banning Bajrang Dal)?” Nath retorted when reporters asked him about the BJP leaders' remarks.
Asked if a similar poll promise will be made by the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, he said, “That will be decided by the manifesto committee. Even the Supreme Court and the entire state are saying that those who spread hatred and create controversies should face action. This is a matter of our social unity.”
In a letter to Nath on Wednesday, Mishra said, “The Congress may go to any extent for the politics of appeasement.”
“I have written a letter to Kamal Nath. I have seen his many tweets in which he posed himself as a Hanuman devotee. Congress equated Bajrang Dal with PFI. Nath should clarify his stance,” he said.
He said that this politics of appeasement of Congress has hurt the sentiments of “Rashtra bhakts” and devotees of Ram and Hanuman.
Chouhan called Bajrang Dal a “staunch nationalist organisation”.
Asking Nath to clarify his stand, he said, “No one will forget those who were pampering the network of SIMI in Madhya Pradesh. Those who opposed the surgical strike and glorified terrorists are now talking about banning Bajrang Dal.”
"They are talking of banning Bajrang Dal, which is a staunch nationalist organization, opposes terrorism and ‘love jihad'. The organisation that creates a sense of patriotism, is involved in social service, works for self-respect and awareness towards one's religion and culture is being compared with a terrorist organisation like PFI?”
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh too posted several tweets targeting Bajrang Dal.
“Modi ji's Religion is Hindutatva' and not Hindu or Sanatan Dharm. As Savarkar ji has said Hindutva has nothing to do with Hindu Religion' Bajrang Dal has nothing to do with Lord Hanuman. It is an organisation of goons (sic)," Singh alleged.
Rajasthan minister Govind Ram Meghwal said the Congress is not against 'Bajrangbali' (Lord Hanuman), but is against the people who are committing a crime by forming an organisation in the deity's name.
Rajasthan Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said that he is an ardent devotee of lord Hanuan.
“The Congress itself is a devotee of Bajrangbali. It bans those who try to create a situation of conflict in the name of religion,” Khachariyawas said.
Chouhan said that Congress was opposed to the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and had called Ram-Setu imaginary. The Congress opposed Hindutva on every occasion and now it stands exposed, he said.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur also targeted the Congress.
“For vote bank, they used to say that Lord Ram is imaginary... On the other hand, under the Narendra Modi government, Kartarpur Corridor was opened, ropeway reached Hemkunt Sahib...and now a grand Lord Ram temple is being built in Ayodhya. No power in the world has been able to stop Bajrangbali or his followers," he said.
The Congress, in its election manifesto for the May 10 Karnataka polls, on Tuesday said it will take decisive action as per law including imposing a ban on organisations like Bajrang Dal and PFI and alleged that they were promoting enmity among communities.
Bajrang Dal is a right-wing Hindu outfit and has often courted controversies over vigilante action. Bajrang is another name for Lord Hanuman and the outfit's insignia carries the picture of the Hindu deity.
