Maharashtra polls: Congress slams BJP for re-run of Modi's Madison Square speech

Mumbai: Congress has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against BJP over repeat telecast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Madison Garden Square speech in the US by Marathi TV channels, calling it paid news.

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the party has asked the Election Commission to take a view on the complaint that the repeat telecast amounted to paid news.

"Once Modi goes abroad, he is not a BJP propagandist but represents 125 crore people of India. He has no business to put the BJP symbol in the advertisement and use it to seek votes. It is highly objectionable," he told reporters.

BJP has, in the last few days, put out advertisements in daily newspapers informing the public about repeat telecast of Modi's speech at Madison Square Garden in New York where he had addressed a huge gathering of Indian-American expatriates on September 28. The advertisement also has a photograph of Modi and BJP's election symbol lotus..