JOIN USTop Congress leaders have ticked off the Karnataka unit over the video war with the BJP reminding them of Rahul Gandhi's advice of avoiding the "communal trap" set by the saffron party.
Congress' political managers for Karnataka admitted that the social media team in the poll-bound state have gone overboard with its response to the "derogatory" video posted by the BJP targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and senior ministers.
"This is precisely the kind of communal trap that the Congress president had warned about. We have warned the social media team not to fall prey to provocation by the BJP," Madhu Gouda Yakshi told DH.
He said Congress president Rahul Gandhi had told the Karnataka leaders to stick to the development story on the election campaign and not to take the communal bait offered by the BJP.
Yakshi said he has spoken to the social media team of the Karnataka Congress and reminded them of Gandhi's advise about focusing on development issues.
He said the BJP has been provoking the Congress by dubbing the Chief Minister "anti-Hindu" releasing videos on it state unit website showing Congress leaders in poor light.
The BJP had released a video titled "Gundurao Military Hotel" that showed morphed pictures of Siddaramaiah dressed as a chef cooking "beef" and helped by Dinesh Gundu Rao, the working president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.
The social media team of Karnataka Congress hit back at the BJP in a video dubbing it as the "Beef Janata Party". The video took a jibe at the BJP and poked fun over its different stand on beef ban issue. It also highlighted Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar speaking of importing beef to meet the demand in his state and Uttar Pradesh becoming a leading state in meat exports.