AURANGABAD, January 28: The district election officer here has found as highly objectionable the statements made by Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray during his public meet last Saturday, wherein he had launched a frontal attack on star Congress campaigner Sonia Gandhi.The video footings of the speech, which has been rushed to the Election Commission, show Thackeray casting aspersions on Sonia's religion - Christianity.
``The statements clearly amount to inflaming and hurting the feelings of Christians,'' a senior election officer said while talking to The Indian Express.
Thackeray, who devoted almost the entire speech to attack Sonia Gandhi, had alleged that it was because of her influence that Christians like Vincent George, Oscar Fernandes and Margaret Alva had risen to positions of power, when Rajiv Gandhi was the country's prime minister.
Thackeray had then proceeded to question Sonia's race and wondered how she could be given the right to rule India on that count. The senior election officersaid this was a clear violation of the model code of conduct for elections which prohibits personal attack. Observers feel Thackeray's forceful attack was provocated by an extremely successful public meeting addressed by Sonia Gandhi the previous day.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
