BJP condemns Prakash Raj remarks about election chief

The Bharatiya Janata Party has condemned purported remarks by actor and political commentator Prakash Raj about Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying they crossed the bounds of political criticism. The State BJP said on Saturday that a video appeared to show Raj addressing civil society organisations and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party. In the video, as described by the party, he compared a proposed political act involving Kumar with the immersion of a Ganesh idol.

Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar, BJP spokesperson N.V. Subhash and others criticised the reported comment. They said Raj was entitled to question the Election Commission but should not use language they regarded as insulting to the head of a constitutional body.

Subhash said that if Raj objected to the Special Intensive Revision process, he should submit facts and evidence to the appropriate forum. He also said the reference to Ganesh immersion was objectionable because it invoked a sacred cultural tradition in a political attack. The BJP said Raj’s status as a popular actor did not give him licence to mock constitutional authorities.

It urged him to use legal remedies and democratic debate to challenge the electoral process rather than make what it described as provocative statements. The supplied report does not include a response from Raj to the BJP’s criticism or independently establish the context of the purported video. It also does not detail the specific objections he may have raised about the SIR process.

The BJP said remarks about the election commissioner might attract headlines but would not contribute to a serious debate without supporting evidence.