Varanasi police asked a dhaba selling rotis with a Narendra Modi mark to shut shop after complaints from certain groups, to which the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the ‘Modi stamp’ on the people’s hearts can’t be removed.
“Police can stop Modi stamp on rotis, but they can’t remove the stamp that our prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has left on the hearts of people of Varanasi,” said senior BJP leader Amit Shah.
Senior police officers said that the action was taken after they received complaints from the general public and even some political leaders for ‘vieled election campaigning’.
Complete Coverage: Elections 2014
The dhaba owner, who was putting the NaMo mark and the BJP symbol on rotis, refused to comment on the police action, saying he had been asked not to speak on this matter.
Poll fever in the temple town has entered totally uncharted territories of rotis, laddoos, balloons, bricks and jackets, as BJP supporters are placing mass orders of many products with the NaMo mark. Election merchandising has emerged as a major trend in the ongoing elections. Aam Aadmi Party has also tried to make use of merchandise such as caps, T-shirts and their election symbol broom.
A senior Congress leader charged that the markets are being flooded with such products to create a ‘forced’ wave, while similar charges were made by many others from other opposition parties.
Image: The rotis with the abki baar Modi sarkar mark in Varanasi.
