Cong enters poster war with Rahul’s Dabangg avatar
LUCKNOW: A political poster war is raging in Uttar Pradesh in the run-up to the 2017 assembly election.
In the latest instance, a poster projecting Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in the guise of Chulbul Pandey, a tough cop played by Salman Khan in the popular Hindi movie ‘Dabangg’ has surfaced.
Rahul Gandhi has been shown warning his political adversaries against loot and corruption. The leaders of major political parties have been depicted standing with folded hands. “UP ko 27 saal se lootne walo ho jao saavdhan- kyonki ham aa rahe hain (2017) main leke sushashan sarkar” (Beware those indulging in loot for past 27 years. We are coming for good governance in 2017 assembly elections),” reads the poster that came up at different public places in Gorakhpur on Sunday.
The poster charges the Samajwadi Party government with patronising musclemen. It accuses Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati of scams and corruption. State BJP chief Keshav Maurya has been charged criminal record and rioting. In the poster, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has been accused of spreading hatred.
Gorakhpur City Congress president Arun Agrahari said his party had no role in bringing out the posters but added that it was an apt reply to the opposition. Congress’s Anwar Hussain and SS Pandey said the main objective was to project Rahul Gandhi as a ‘Jan Rakshak’, a leader giving protection to the common man.
Earlier, posters projecting state BJP chief Keshav Maurya as Lord Krishna and BSP chief Mayawati as Goddess Kali had created a furore in the state’s political circles.
“Our posters are different. We have only tried to project Rahul Gandhi as a leader, giving protection to people against corruption and loot. Our posters do not play with the public sentiment,” said Pandey.