New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday filed a complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with the Election Commission over his ‘fight against Shakti’ remark and comments on Electronic Voting Machines.

Can someone talk about the destruction of ‘Shakti’

Addressing a public rally in Mumbai on February 17, Rahul Gandhi said, “There is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti”.

He 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.

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

“A host of statements has been made by the Congress party. We have appealed to the ECI to take action in this case. If Congress continues to perpetrate these kinds of lies and actions are not taken, then it will go unchecked,” Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.

Rahul Gandhi’s comments invited sharp criticism from the BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In multiple election rallies over the past two days, the Prime Minister countered the Congress leader’s statements by saying that ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism means embodiment of the divine, and the opposition parties are trying to destroy it.

“Can someone talk about the destruction of ‘Shakti’?… The fight is between those who want to destroy ‘Shakti’ and those who worship ‘Shakti’,” PM Modi said in Telangana.

Following the row, Rahul Gandhi came up with an explanation, accusing the Prime Minister of twisting his words and also claimed that by ‘Shakti,’ he meant the might of the state.