15 hours Ago By TOI News Desk
NEW DELHI: A fresh controversy erupted between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress over alleged "incorrect depiction" of the Indian maps displayed by the grand old party to commemorate the centenary of the 1924 Congress session in Karnataka 's Belagavi . Taking to X, BJP lashed out at the Wayanad MP saying, "RaGa's Mohabbat ki Dukaan is always open for China" and dubbed it "vote bank" politics. Also read: 'Will ask INDIA bloc parties to remove Congress from alliance,' says AAP "RaGa's Mohabbat ki Dukaan is always open for China! They would break the nation.
They've done it once. They'll do it again," the BJP Karnataka unit wrote in the post on X. According to BJP, the maps put up by Congress exclude the Gilgit area of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and the Aksai Chin region under Chinese control, which are considered integral parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
"@INCKarnataka, has shown utter disrespect for India's sovereignty by displaying a distorted map at their Belagavi event, portraying Kashmir as part of Pakistan. All this just to appease their vote bank. This is shameful!" the party posted on 'X'.
BJP's Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal called for police action against the event organisers. Yatnal posted on 'X', "The publication of an incorrect map of India not only constitutes a breach of Geospatial information standards but also violates the law." He noted that displaying an incorrect Indian map is an offence under IPC section 74 and the National Honour Act.
"This is the way how the Congress celebrates its historic CWC session by distorting the map of India, not showing PoK as part of Indian territory. Shame on @INCKarnataka." He further posted, "I appeal to the @SPBelagavi to register a case against the organizers for wrongfully depicting the map of India immediately.
" Reacting to the controversy, Deputy chief minister and Congress Karnataka unit president, D K Shivakumar , criticised BJP and said, "don't try to pick a small stone in the curd." He stressed that they organised the event "according to Indian tradition and values of those days." He added that the posters would be removed if there were any mistakes.
"Some leaders might have made some mistake, we are removing everything. Don't try to pick a small stone in the curd. We have done according to Indian tradition and values of those days.
BJP is there to attack us, they can't digest. There is no medicine for jealousy. Let them do what they want," he told reporters in Belagavi.
Responding to BJP's criticism, Congress leader Srinivas BV alleged that the saffron party and RSS have created this controversy. "They have a problem with this celebration on the completion of 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi taking over as the president of All India Congress Committee (AICC) and taking historic decisions to bring reform. They are spreading lies," he added.
The controversy erupts ahead of the Congress CWC in Karnataka's Belagavi that began on Thursday afternoon. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi , Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah along with several other leaders marked their presence at the meet. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India .
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