BJP puts Abhinandan on posters, Twitter calls it cheap poll trick

NEW DELHI: The BJP is being widely slammed by Twitterati for printing multiple political campaign posters with the photo of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. This comes after the party received much flak for politicising the Pulwama attack, using the air strikes to ask for votes and for carrying on with events when Abhinandan was captured by the Pakistan Army.

One roadside poster, allegedly from Delhi, has photos of Amit Shah, Narendra Modi, other BJP candidates and Abhinandan, with the catchphrases, ‘Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai ‘and ‘NaMo Again’.

The Election Commission has asked political parties to “desist from displaying photographs of defence personnel”. Some Twitter users found this “shameful” and called out the BJP for it. The ethics and the laws regarding the act were discussed on Twitter. Is the BJP allowed to use Abhinandan in its posters? It is “a slippery slope”, commented journalist Rama Lakshmi.

Another journalist put up a digital poster featuring Abhinandan along side BJP MLA Om Prakash Sharma, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, and asked the Indian Air Force to give some clarity on this issue. Activist Yogendra Yadav asked the Election Commission of India on Twitter if using the photograph of a serving soldier in political posters is permissible. A retired officer of the Indian Army, Major DP Singh, said Admiral Ramdas is right in his request to the Election Commission to “put a stop to the misuse of the Indian Armed Forces and its acts”.