Why India's election is an insulting affair
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Khaki underwear
The Election Commission attempted to make matters more civilised.
Azam Khan, a party leader in Uttar Pradesh, was banned from campaigning for three days after he claimed his rival — BJP candidate and former Bollywood actress Jaya Prada (in pic) — wore khaki underwear.
Khaki is the colour associated with the uniform of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), a hardline Hindu group from which the BJP originated.
Yogi Adityanath, the firebrand BJP chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, was briefly banned when he compared the election to a battle between Ali, a figure in Islam, and the Hindu god Hanuman.
Twitter reportedly also removed a tweet by Adityanath saying Congress was infected with a "green virus", the colour associated with Muslims in South Asia.
Maneka Gandhi, widow of Gandhi's uncle Sanjay, received a 48-hour ban for appearing to tell Muslims not to expect any favours if they didn't vote for her.
Azam Khan, a party leader in Uttar Pradesh, was banned from campaigning for three days after he claimed his rival — BJP candidate and former Bollywood actress Jaya Prada (in pic) — wore khaki underwear.
Khaki is the colour associated with the uniform of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), a hardline Hindu group from which the BJP originated.
Yogi Adityanath, the firebrand BJP chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, was briefly banned when he compared the election to a battle between Ali, a figure in Islam, and the Hindu god Hanuman.
Twitter reportedly also removed a tweet by Adityanath saying Congress was infected with a "green virus", the colour associated with Muslims in South Asia.
Maneka Gandhi, widow of Gandhi's uncle Sanjay, received a 48-hour ban for appearing to tell Muslims not to expect any favours if they didn't vote for her.
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There was worse
Raj Thackeray, a fiery local politician in the western state of Maharashtra, likened Modi to Hitler.
"What Adolf Hitler did to Germany in 1930s is going to be replicated in India if Modi and Shah return to power," he told a rally.
Vaiko, the head of a regional party in Tamil Nadu in the south, added another World War II dictator to the mix: "Why is Modi talking in the language of Hitler and Mussolini?"
Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi called Modi an "executioner" and one of the "insects of the gutter".
And Satpal Singh Satti, head of the BJP in Himachal Pradesh state, called Gandhi a "motherfucker" at a public rally.
"What Adolf Hitler did to Germany in 1930s is going to be replicated in India if Modi and Shah return to power," he told a rally.
Vaiko, the head of a regional party in Tamil Nadu in the south, added another World War II dictator to the mix: "Why is Modi talking in the language of Hitler and Mussolini?"
Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi called Modi an "executioner" and one of the "insects of the gutter".
And Satpal Singh Satti, head of the BJP in Himachal Pradesh state, called Gandhi a "motherfucker" at a public rally.