The Election Commission has said that the use of the word "Pappu" in electronic advertisements is derogatory and barred the told the ruling BJP in Gujarat from using it in its election campaign. The direction came after an advertisement apparently targeted Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, by calling him 'Pappu', perceived as a social media slur coined to target him.
Confirming the development, sources in the BJP today said the script of the advertisement did not link the word to any individual.
According to BJP sources, the media committee under the Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) objected to the word mentioned in the script of the advertisement which was submitted by the party for approval last month.
"Before making any election-related advertisement, we have to submit a script to the committee to get a certificate. However, they raised objection to the word 'Pappu', saying it is derogatory. They asked us to remove or replace it," a senior BJP leader said.
He said the party will replace the word and submit a new script for the EC's approval.
"Since there was no direct mention or linkage with any person while mentioning 'Pappu' in the entire script, we had appealed to the committee to reconsider their decision, but they rejected it. Now, we will change that word and submit a new script for approval," he said.
When contacted, Gujarat CEO BB Swain said he was not aware of any such development and can comment only after getting the details tomorrow.
