BJP files complaint with EC over Rahul Gandhi's 'Shakti' remark

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday filed a complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with the Election Commission over his 'fight against Shakti' remark.

The BJP said that Rahul Gandhi's comments had a ‘misogynistic’ tone, and that the ‘obnoxious’ statement had “hurt the sentiments of Hindus".

Addressing a public rally in Mumbai on February 17, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, "There is a word 'Shakti' in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti".


Gandhi had further said, "The question is, what is that Shakti? The soul of the King is in the EVM. This is true. The soul of the King is in the EVM and in every institution of the country, in ED, CBI, and the Income Tax department". The Congress leader has also alleged that PM Modi cannot win elections without voting machines.

“As the term Shakti is traditionally associated with the female deity and women folk in India, thus along with hurting the religious sentiments, it also has an underlying misogynistic tone", the complaint filed by BJP read.

On Wednesday, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri arrived at the Election Commission of India office in New Delhi and filed a complaint against Gandhi.

When asked if he has complained to the Election Commission over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Shakti' remark, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, "100%. I read out the exact thing of what he said and then we went and made a detailed presentation... He insulted the religious sentiments of a lot of people. He insulted 'Nari Shakti'..."