"Incitement!" Congress points EC to PM Modi's 'bulldozer' remarks

The Indian National Congress on Saturday, 18 May, expressed strong objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charge that the party will "bulldoze the Ram temple" if elected to power, accusing him of instigating people and demanding that the Election Commission take action against him.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said it is the BJP that uses the bulldozer.

'The Election Commission should take action against Modi-ji and the BJP for saying such things about the temple of God, which is currently under construction by the trust,' posted Kharge in an X post. 'By saying such things, they are creating anger among the public. They are inciting the public, they are instigating them.'

'The Prime Minister himself is giving instigative speeches. Action should be taken against him. If some small leader had done this, we would not have paid attention, but the person occupying the post of Prime Minister is using such language,' Kharge said.

Modi, while campaigning in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, 17 May, had claimed that the Congress and the Samajwadi Party will run a bulldozer over the Ram temple if elected to power, and asked them to take lessons from UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath as to where bulldozers should be used instead.

"If the SP and the Congress come to power, they will send Ram Lalla back to the tent and bulldoze the temple," Modi claimed.

The Congress president in his reaction said that Modi is inciting people by saying things that are impossible as "we cannot do such things".

"The people of the country know that this will never happen. After our government comes, everything will be protected. This is what our Constitution says. We will work under the Constitution only," he added.

Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said the party in its manifesto has promised to:

"That is a complete answer to the outrageous and false charge that the INDIA bloc will take bulldozers to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya," Chidambaram said in a post on X.

"Bulldozer justice may be the signature tune of the chief minister of UP, but it is anathema to the Congress and the INDIA bloc," the former union minister also said.