Mangaluru: The video of the Mangalore South constituency’s BJP candidate Vedavyas Kamat's wife seeking votes in the name of Hindutva, which has gone viral on social networking sites, has created controversy.

In the video, several women have come to seek votes for BJP. Among them, a woman says “Mangaluru South constituency’s BJP candidate Vedavyas Kamat’s wife has come to you to seek votes, she will address you.”

In the video clip, one can find Kamat’s wife saying “I am the wife of Vedavyas Kamat, who is a candidate from Mangalore South constituency. You all should vote for him so that he could win with a huge majority. This time, BJP’s government must come here and in Delhi as well. You all know very well that to save Hindutva, we need BJP Government. Thank you.” Then those who accompanied her raised "Bharat Mata ki Jai" slogan.

In another video, a woman is seeking votes by saying “In the present situation, we cannot say whether our girls will return to home once after they go out. You know what all we are witnessing. What was the condition of Akshata? Whether our boys will return home after going out, it cannot be said. Sharat Madiwal, Deepak Rao… What is the guarantee whether our children will return home after going out... That is why; once again Congress government should not come (to power). If BJP comes to power, it will be good for Hindutva’s betterment and it will be possible to save our culture. What happened after the Congress came to power… orders were issued to governmentalize the mutts and temples that we worship. Would BJP have done this… Had such things happened during Yeddyurappa’s government… No right... Then why this is happening now? The money that comes to our temple, they are spending it on other religions and other parties. This time BJP government must come if we want to save our temples’ money with us. Yeddyurappa’s government must come. This is only possible if Vedavyas Kamat wins from Mangaluru South constituency. BJP’s government must come for the protection of our girls, men and to save our temples.” 

This video was filmed at a house. It is visible in the video that the BJP candidate Vedavyas’ wife is present on the spot while a woman was speaking  . However, Vartha Bharati does not have the specific information regarding when and where these videos were shot. 

Seeking votes in the name of religion and caste is the violation of the Election Model Code of Conduct. The seven-judge Constitution bench, headed by the Supreme Court Chief Justice, has ruled that seeking votes in the name of religion, caste or community amounted to corrupt practice and election of a candidate who indulged in it can be set aside.

We will file a complaint against seeking votes in the name of Hindutva: Vinay Raj

It has come to our notice that the wife of the BJP candidate from Mangalore South has been seeking votes in the name of Hindutva. We have decided to file a complaint with the Election Commission today, said district Congress spokesperson and lawyer Vinayraj.

He further said "We too have seen the videos that are seeking votes by violating the code of conduct. We will complain about this. Our city will not progress in the name of any caste, religion. Rather it will be developed on the basis of progressive works. If they ask for votes from Mangaluru's developmental perspective, people will feel that they are concerned about the city. Instead, if votes are sought on Hindutva card, it will be a matter of dividing people of the city."

"Seeking votes this way shows that they are not concerned about the improvement and development of Mangalore. What people need is drinking water, development of roads, electrification etc. Instead of that; seeking votes in the name of God, Hinduism, religion, and cattle do not favour development. Rather it divides the society, "Vinayraj responded.

 

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Patna, Dec 26: RJD president Lalu Prasad on Thursday slammed the BJP over alleged heckling of a woman artist who sang a bhajan, known to be a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi, at a function organised on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee a day ago.

The RJD supremo, on his X handle, alleged that the BJP leaders had taken exception to the phrase 'Sita Ram' and asked the singer to apologise before erupting in roars of "Jai Shri Ram".

The well-attended function was held on Wednesday at Bapu Sabhagar, a sprawling state-of-the-art auditorium in the heart of the city.

The septuagenarian alleged that the incident was "reflective of the misogyny that the BJP and the Sangh Parivar was known for" and its "disdain for females was resulting in disrespect for 'Sita Mata'."

However, BJP sources, who did not wish to be named, pointed out that the newspaper report shared by Prasad in an earlier tweet clearly stated that the furore was not over 'Sita Ram', but the subsequent stanza - 'Ishwar Allah Tero Naam'.

The sources claimed that party workers were opposed to the "recital of a line that was not part of the original verse composed by 15th-century poet Narsi Mehta, but inserted later, apparently in line with Gandhi's Hindu-Muslim unity plank".