Election Panel sends notice to CP Joshi for his 'Brahmins' comment

The Election Panel has asked Joshi to respond by 11 am on Sunday.

Stirring row, Joshi, who made the comment in poll-bound Rajasthan, was caught uttering the lines about Brahmin and Hinduism in a video, which was tweeted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Harsh Sanghavi who said: "Shameful statement by Congress Leader CP Joshi. Implies what does a lower caste person like Modi know about Hinduism as only Brahmins are true custodians of Hinduism !"

In the video, Joshi could be heard saying, "Only Brahmins know about religion in this country.....The country has become weird. Uma Bharti belongs to Lodhi community and she is speaking about Hindu religion...Narendra Modi is also talking about Hinduism. It is only Brahmins who don't talk about it. They have lost their mind in 50 years....."

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is eyeing on to wrest power in Rajasthan which will go to polls on Dec 7, rebuked Joshi on Twitter saying, "CP Joshi's statement is opposed to Congress party's ideology. Party leaders must not give such a statement which will hurt any section of the society. In view of the Congress' beliefs and workers, Joshi will definitely realise his mistake. He should apologise for his statement."

Immediately after the Congress supremo's tweet, Joshi said in the micro-blogging site, "Respecting the thoughts of Congress' beliefs and workers, I apologise for my statement if it did hurt any section of the society."

Joshi will also participate in the upcoming state elections in which the Congress is eyeing a chance to oust the incumbent BJP. The senior Congress leader is contesting from Nathdwara constituency.

The poll results will be declared on Dec 11.

Image: twitter.com/cpjoshiBJP