On Saturday, 20th April, two election officials identified as Vijay Mali and Somendra Gehlot were accused of insulting the hoardings of Lord Ram in the Jalore city of Rajasthan. The two government officials are said to have torn the hoardings with photographs of Lord Ram on them. The video of the incident has gone viral over the internet.
The Hindu organisations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), took cognisance of the incident, and demanded the strictest punishment against the accused officers. The VHP submitted a memorandum on Monday (22nd April) to the District Magistrate/District Election Officer of Jalore, Rajasthan, and said that the picture of Lord Ram installed in Bhinmal Nagar on Saturday night was vandalised in a very humiliating manner by the government staff posted on election duty, and later the hoarding was thrown down.
The VHP said that the incident took place at the Ambedkar Circle in Jalore City of Rajasthan. The video of the incident is going viral on social media with demands for action against the staff.
According to the VHP memorandum, several of the people standing there got angry after seeing photographs of Lord Ram being disrespected. Both the government employees stated that the rationale for removing the photo was the application of the election code of conduct. VHP then questioned if the offensive manner in which the portraits of Lord Ram were disrespected at midnight was permissible under the Model Code of Conduct. In the same document, it is said that both government officials did this on purpose to disrespect Hindu feelings.
The letter further states that there is anger in the Hindu community as a result of the viral video’s portrayal of both government employees’ acts. VHP members have asked District Election Officer Jalore to immediately suspend Vijay Mali and Somendra Gehlot. VHP has also threatened an agitation if action is not taken against both. OpIndia has a copy of the memorandum.
Naresh, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad official, told OpIndia that, in addition to the memorandum, he personally has urged that all top district authorities take action against the two employees. He claims that if action is not taken, there will be agitation.