The BJP on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Congress, accusing it of running a "paid campaign" on Facebook in Pakistan in their bid to ensure removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Describing it as a "very serious" issue, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra flashed copies of a Facebook page showing advertisement of the Indian National Congress calling for 'Desh bachao, Modi hatao' (Save country, remove Modi), with Pakistan being highlighted as the location.
BJP IT cell head, Amit Malviya also posted a tweet that showed video grab of the Congress' official Facebook page and alleged that the party was running a 'Modi-Hatao' campaign through paid sponsorship in Pakistan.
"This is the Official Congress page sponsoring advertisements on Facebook in Pakistan to remove Modi!" Malviya said.
"What does it mean? You are running a paid campaign against our popular prime minister in Pakistan," said Patra, reminding how earlier Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had sought Pakistan's help to remove PM Modi. The Congress party is running 'active ads' to promote its Facebook page in only two countries, India and Pakistan, he added.
The Facebook page of INC later did not show Pakistan as the location.
Patra also lashed out at senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad for his remarks made in the context of Aligarh University, where he rued that the number of Hindu candidates inviting him to campaign for them has reduced in the last four years.
At a programme held in Lucknow on Wednesday, Azad said that since his days as a youth leader, he has been campaigning across the country for a number of party candidates belonging to the Hindu community, claiming that 95 per cent of those who allied him were Hindu brothers and just 5 per cent were Muslim brothers.
He further asserted that the figure has dropped to a significant low as Hindu candidates now feared losing out on votes if he campaigns for them.
"But in the last four years, I have observed that the figure of 95 has dropped to just 20 per cent. This means that there is something wrong. Today people hesitate in calling me to campaign, thinking that it would affect their vote banks," he added.
"Ghulam Nabi Azad got support from LeT and Hafiz Saeed on his remark that to kill one terrorist, Indian Army kills 20 civilians," Patra alleged.
AZAD’S GRUDGE
At an event, Azad said that since early, he campaigned for Hindu candidates, claiming that 95 per cent of those who allied with him were Hindu brothers; just 5 per cent were Muslims. However, he rued that lately it happens rarely since they feared losing votes.
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