New Delhi, May 4 (TOI): BJP on Thursday accused Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad of blatantly seeking Muslim votes on communal lines during an election meeting in Gulbarga and petitioned the Election Commission for what it called a violation of the model code of conduct.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said in an election meeting a couple of days ago, Azad appealed that “Muslims in Karnataka should vote for Congress en masse”. He claimed that Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge was also present in the meeting when Azad made the comment. “Is this an agenda of development, or is this a communal agenda? It is starkly clear that this is a communal agenda, we have complained to the Election Commission. Law will, of course, take its course but people of this country and people of Karnataka are extremely intelligent to see through this,” Patra said in Bengaluru.

Patra said the grand old party was pursuing its “usual divide and rule” policy in Karnataka too. “They are dividing people on the basis of caste, creed and religion. One should understand that Azad is close to the Gandhi-Nehru family and he cannot utter a single word without the consent of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi,” he said.

A BJP delegation had called on the EC on Wednesday seeking action against Azad based on media reports about his alleged “communal” speech. Meanwhile, Azad dismissed participating in any community specific meeting. “I didn’t hold any public meeting especially for Muslims, it was just a public meeting. I challenge if anyone meeting the EC officials has video or audio of mine saying ‘vote in name of Islam’, then I will resign as Parliament member and leader of the opposition. Or those leaders from the BJP, who had approached the EC, should accept my challenge and resign from their respective posts if proved wrong,” he said.

“I have asked secular parties to come together. I have not used ‘Musalman ikkatha ho jao’, ‘Islam khatre me hai or Islam ke naam pe vote de do’ terms during my speech,” he added.