New Delhi: In keeping with the order of the Election Commission (EC), the BJP on Friday condemned the communcal CD that had allegedly been released by a party functionary and which had inflammatory images of the Godhra carnage - allegedly meant to raise communal hackles.
On May 8, the EC had asked BJP to publicly and strongly condemn the CD which denigrates Muslims and was allegedly meant for campaigning in UP.
BJP has claimed that the CD, which was released by party leader Lalji Tandon on April 4 in Lucknow, was not part of its official campaign material and was prepared by a junior functionary. The Commission refused to buy this, saying no party could absolve itself of the responsibility of its functionaries.
BJP General Secretary Ananth Kumar had said that the party had issued a suo-motu clarification in New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh after the lapse was found out saying that they had not prepared, produced, distributed or permitted the impugned CD.
He added that Lalji Tandon had also stated that he was under the mistaken impression that he was releasing only eight CDs and did not know that one CD - in different packaging - was placed by someone unauthorisedly. Tandon had since then, expressed regret for the same and the party too had expressed its regret before the Chief Electoral Officer of Lucknow for this mistake.
However, not buying this, the EC had in a 21-page order said that the statements of LK Advani, Kalyan Singh and Tandon had "created a doubt, a genuine doubt, in the minds of the general public despite the fact that BJP had disowned the CD and condemned its contents or stand by its comments".
(With inputs from UNI)
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