# India

BJP moves ECI over Sonia’s ‘sovereignty’ remark in Karnataka

Union minister Bhupender Yadav said, “She (Sonia Gandhi) deliberately used the word sovereignty. Congress manifesto is the agenda of the ‘Tukde-Tukde’ gang and hence they are using such words,” told reporters.

Statesman News Service | New Delhi | May 8, 2023 4:05 pm

BJP moves ECI over Sonia’s ‘sovereignty’ remark in Karnataka

The BJP has filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for her reported remark that “Congress will not allow anyone to pose a threat to Karnataka’s reputation, sovereignty or integrity”.

A delegation of BJP leaders comprising Union ministers Bhupender Yadav and Jitendra Singh and other senior party leaders met the Election Commission and filed the complaint.

“She (Sonia Gandhi) deliberately used the word sovereignty. Congress manifesto is the agenda of the ‘Tukde-Tukde’ gang and hence they are using such words. We hope the ECI will take action against this anti-national act,” Bhupender Yadav told reporters.

“We demand a public apology from Sonia Gandhi for using the word ‘sovereignty’ for Karnataka. We have also urged the Election Commission to take strict action against her and the Congress,” BJP leader Tarun Chugh after the delegation’s meeting with the ECI.

On Saturday, Sonia addressed a rally in the Hubbali district of poll-bound Karnataka. The Congress’s official Twitter handle posted: “CPP Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji sends a strong message to 6.5 crore Kannadigas: “The Congress will not allow anyone to pose a threat to Karnataka’s reputation, sovereignty or integrity.”

This triggered a political storm with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders targeting her over the remark.

“Not only Karnataka, I want to tell this to the entire country with a lot of pain that in this election Congress’s ‘shahi parivar’ yesterday came to Karnataka and said that they want to protect the ‘sovereignty’ of Karnataka”, the PM said at a rally on Sunday.

“Do you know what is the meaning of it… When a country becomes independent, that country is called a sovereign country. The meaning of what Congress is saying is that the Congress believes that Karnataka is separate from India,” he said.